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Typewriter

I'm guessing this thread won't get too many responses, but I'll give it a shot nonetheless.

Do any of the writers out there use a typewriter as part of their writing process? I've begun to draft my articles, etc. by hand--and it's made the whole writing process a lot less stressful. (With a word processor, I struggled with perfectionism: I used to write a first paragraph, delete it, write it again, polish it, delete it, and so on, until an imminent deadline forced me to pull an all-nighter and pound the whole thing out.)

The advantage of the typewriter, of course, is that it forces you to write from begining to end before revising. You can only go forward--this would seem to take away of the urge to tinker with what already been written--it would also seem to raise one's comfort with a sh*tty first draft.

I know that I would eventually enter the end product into a computer. But what particularly draws me to the typewriter is the idea of producing one physical page at a time. There's something balanced, measured, and satisfying in this approach.

Any one had any success in using a typewriter? If not, does anyone no how to achieve a similar writing process on a computer--i.e., how to enforce the discipline of going forward one page at a time, and not going back until you're done with the whole first draft?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

TOPICS: Lofi
sisyphea's picture

mobilepro

I got a MobilePro for about eighty bucks on Ebay, with a good battery and touch screen. It rocks. I can edit, but because the screen is small, it doesn't really invite editing. It's mobile and I can transfer it to computer. Because I haven't written much for years, I can barely read my own handwriting, so typing is much better!

It's a mental shift though - why do you need to force yourself? Do you keep all your chocolate under lock and key, and have a timer dispense you a beer every half hour? No, you've just learned to make responsible choices for your health. Do the same for your writing.

Tell your mental editor to take a holiday, and just keep writing. Don't even open the pages you did the day before - start a new document, logically titled.

It's pretty difficult, giving yourself permission to write rubbish! But you can't edit a blank page, and you're wasting edits if you haven't yet discovered the seeds that you need to sow for future story revelations.

 
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