The Typewriter

[mtzGr]

So I recently purchased a manual typewriter in an effort to increase my production. Admittedly, whenever I sit down to write, I do not get very far. While my discipline is to blame, the distractions on the computer don't exactly help. I don't have much experience with typewriters--I played around with my grandpa's when I was younger--but I'm hoping it can help train me to think about exactly what I want to write, and to get it down on the paper, instead of editing what I've already got (I certainly spend more time fixing old sentences than I do writing new ones!).

How about it--do any of you an affinity or hatred of typewriters? Any of you still use one? Have you ever? They do have a magic-from-the-past kind of feel, or at least that is how they seem to me. I'm reminded of Woody Allen's latest movie, Midnight in Paris, a really enjoyable movie, which dealt with the problem of how every generation looks back at the previous generation, and views it as being better than their own; I guess that's what this is if I'm gonna be honest.

Still waiting for it to arrive, but I'm planning on trying to write rough drafts on the typewriter, and do my editing on the computer. Aside from the added work of retyping everything, any thoughts or suggestions? I'm probably fixin' to waste a lot of paper!

 

[fleamailman]

(ah yes, the goblin appreciated this sort of thread then, saying "...the trouble with a typewriter, as with the hand writting stuff too, is that once it is written something it then has to retyped or scanned into a format that the computer accepts, so instead I tend to either use a small notebook computer off-line, or an ebook reader with a stylus now, much depending on how much time I have, as simply it can be uploaded with ease the moment I get back on-line again...")

 

[j d worthington]

The real problem is not that -- such can often be very helpful, as one has to take more time to read and correct, and in the process improve, one's writing -- it is getting the supplies for manual typewriters. While they do exist, they are gradually becoming scarcer, and many places (at least here) do not carry them at all, which can be a real pain when the ribbon becomes faded, or you need another ream of paper in a hurry....

Otherwise... yes, I worked on a typewriter for quite a few years, and still have a great fondness for the things. As Ellison notes, there's just something satisfying about the sound.....

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

...the trouble with a typewriter, as with the hand writting stuff too, is that once it is written something it then has to retyped or scanned into a format that the computer accepts,

The real problem is not that -- such can often be very helpful, as one has to take more time to read and correct, and in the process improve, one's writing

JD has it exactly right.

I wrote my first three published books on a typewriter. It took a long time, but I was learning to write. I think that, to a certain extent, it forced me to learn to write before sending off my first book to a publisher.

I know that Kate Elliot used to write all of her first drafts in pencil on a writing pad.

For a long time after I started using a computer, I used to print up my first drafts in hardcopy and then delete the files, so that I had to go through and write the whole thing again from the beginning just as though I was using a typewriter instead of a computer.

So, yes, I think using a typewriter can be beneficial, if you can get the supplies.

 

[j d worthington]

Thank you, Teresa!

Incidentally, this is why I write the first drafts of nearly all my critical pieces by hand... it gives me a chance to think ahead a bit more, I can see what it looks like on a page (and many would be surprized how you can begin to detect problems just from that appearance, things you might not see if it were on a screen), and I can go back and interlineate and compare which of various versions both look and sound better....

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

One thing you can do on a computer is print up a chapter in a different font from the one you usually use, or simply in italics. Somehow the change from what is familiar makes it easier to spot what is wrong.

That's why I do each draft in a different font, and then change it to Courier before turning in the manuscript.

The same thing can be accomplished, though, by writing things out by hand as you do, and then transferring what you have to a computer and looking at the hard copy.

 

[mtzGr]

The real problem...is getting the supplies for manual typewriters. While they do exist, they are gradually becoming scarcer, and many places (at least here) do not carry them at all, which can be a real pain when the ribbon becomes faded, or you need another ream of paper in a hurry....

I was worried about that as well, but luckily I was able to find a online supplier that carries the ribbons I need. I ordered three of them, but I have no idea how often they'll need to be replaced. Depending on how much I end up utilizing it, I may order a bunch more so I won't need to worry about running out.

I wrote my first three published books on a typewriter. It took a long time, but I was learning to write. I think that, to a certain extent, it forced me to learn to write before sending off my first book to a publisher.

I'm hoping it will accord me the same experience!

J.D., Teresa, do either of you still use a typewriter on occasion? I don't think I'd ever be able to write longhand; my hand starts to cramp after the first page.

an ebook reader with a stylus

That is pretty interesting, though typing or writing on touchscreens usually drives me crazy. I must say though that I have been converted since getting my Nook. Also, I'm not clear on your writing--is the goblin a personality in your head that is talking? Or are you talking to yourself, to us? (the other goblin went on pondering, "...will he leave character?")

Edit: One thing I am (not overly) concerned about is actually changing the ribbon without a manual, or experience on the machines. Hopefully the typewriter will be straight-forward enough to just break down, swap out the ribbon, and put it back together.

 

[Vertigo]

It's interesting; I have tried to do some writing though not very successfully. However I have done some successful writing in the past, just not fiction. I have written several courses and their associated notes that each run to over 400 pages. When doing these I had to plan everything out carefully. Information had to be revealed in just the right sequence and so on. And I have been told several times that I did a good job of it. Naively, I assumed I had to do all that because it was a technical book and so it was important whereas real writers don't have to do that sort of thing it all just flows out of their minds already structured

Of course I'm beginning to see now that many people write novels in the same way I have written my technical stuff. Not everyone of course but I suspect that if I'm ever to actually write any fiction, this is how I will have to approach it.

OK so ramble over, what has that to do with the question? Well one problem I have found is that if I start writing on computer without this sort of preparation I get bogged down in the detail - oh that word's no good, quck change it; that sentence dosen't work quick change it and so on. Then I decide that the paragraph shouldn't go here so I cut and paste it somewhere else, then no it's no good there either and so on. It's all so easy to do on a computer. Consequently there's no flow as there would be if say, I just stood up and told the story out loud to a group of friends. Yes there would be bits that were worded awkwardly but the story would flow and get told.

So now I'm thinking I would be more inclined to work like Teresa's friend and sketch the story out by hand. Get the whole scene down on paper in one smooth flow and only then start worrying about making it "right". Adding some extra description here changing some words there. By doing it on paper first, I would then have to completely write it out again, to do that I have to completely read it again , not just proof read it which is not the same thing at all.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I don't use a typewriter currently, but I do have one in the house (my son's) and I grew up with them -- my dad was a typewriter repairman, so we had lots of them!

The ribbon won't be hard to change -- it will almost certainly have a little lever near it that pops up the part that is exposed, and then you just pick up the cartridge. Watch where the ribbon is wrapped around on the old one, and wrap it just like that when you set the new one in, then push the little lever again to lock it down. They generally all have some variant of that maneuver, no matter what kind of ribbon it is. Now getting the right ones, these days, is a different matter -- for my son's, we had to order a ribbon that just comes on a spool and then take it off those spools and put it onto his old ones, but even that wasn't difficult -- just annoying. If you're planning on writing a whole book on it, I would probably order more than three!

As for writing on it, I miss typewriters but I don't think I would try to write a whole book (or even short story) on one anymore. I change things too quickly for that. But I'm impressed with anyone who is that brave!

 

[j d worthington]

Definitely order more than three. Order as many as you can.

I mentioned Harlan Ellison earlier. He still writes on a manual typewriter, and he keeps tons of ribbon (as well as numerous extra typewriters -- he has learned from experience!) in the house; but he is also aware that these things are somewhat volatile, and will dry out over time, even when sealed. If I recall correctly, he refrigerates his, though I'm not sure at what temperature, to prevent this problem, for the very reason that, even when you have the sort of resources he tends to when it comes to getting such things, they are nonetheless getting rarer all the time.

No, I don't use a typewriter these days... don't have one, and the last time I went shopping for one, I found they had become ridiculously expensive for what I would be getting, unless I went second-hand, and then I might have problems with rebuilt machines as well. Not to mention the supply problem, which is simply staggering to me. So, in lieu of doing work on the typewriter, I do most of my actual writing (as opposed to the largely off-the-cuff writing in my posts) by hand (I also print, rather than use longhand, as my handwriting is more difficult to read than Assyrian cuneiform is to a modern reader); then do most of the first-stage revisions -- the heavy stuff, that is -- on those sheets, with occasional additional sheets when I find I need or want to expand on a point; with the final touches being done when I put it in via a keyboard. The exceptions to this are when I send a freshly-written piece to someone who is interested in seeing it; at which time I will sometimes do revision as I go along....

 

[mtzGr]

Well one problem I have found is that if I start writing on computer without this sort of preparation I get bogged down in the detail - oh that word's no good, quck change it; that sentence dosen't work quick change it and so on. Then I decide that the paragraph shouldn't go here so I cut and paste it somewhere else, then no it's no good there either and so on. It's all so easy to do on a computer.

This is exactly my problem, I spend way too much time mulling over too little writing. I would try to write it by hand, but my hand gets tired after a short amount of time (and my handwriting isn't the most fluid to begin with). I blame this left hand of mine.

The ribbon won't be hard to change -- it will almost certainly have a little lever near it that pops up the part that is exposed, and then you just pick up the cartridge. Watch where the ribbon is wrapped around on the old one, and wrap it just like that when you set the new one in, then push the little lever again to lock it down. They generally all have some variant of that maneuver, no matter what kind of ribbon it is. If you're planning on writing a whole book on it, I would probably order more than three!

Thank you for the tips! I'll get a crack at it later this week when it arrives, doesn't sound too hard to manage.

Definitely order more than three. Order as many as you can.

I mentioned Harlan Ellison earlier. He still writes on a manual typewriter, and he keeps tons of ribbon (as well as numerous extra typewriters -- he has learned from experience!) in the house; but he is also aware that these things are somewhat volatile, and will dry out over time, even when sealed. If I recall correctly, he refrigerates his, though I'm not sure at what temperature, to prevent this problem, for the very reason that, even when you have the sort of resources he tends to when it comes to getting such things, they are nonetheless getting rarer all the time.

I didn't realize what I was getting myself into. I'll definitely be ordering more ribbons (if I end up using the typewriter as my workhorse), and try to do some research on maintaining this thing. Either way, it'll be an adventure.