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/lit/ - Literature

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9390306 No.9390306 [Reply] [Original]

So I think I might buy a typewriter.

Not because I think it looks good - if it were so, I'd write on paper, because it loks better - but rather because the computer is so distracting, so awful, and so annoying.

I think I need an object which can be associated 100% with writing, something which just by being looked at will already give me ideas.

Does any of you own one? Also, are there any suprises that you've had after buying one? Anything you didn't expect? Any good aspect? Any bad aspects? Please answer.

I only think the absence of the delete function might end up being a little irritating for me. I write (formal, metrefied) poetry, so I have to correct words dozens, sometimes maybe even more than 100 times before I am satisfied.

>> No.9390330

>>9390306

>Implying anyone on this board writes, let alone reads

>> No.9390346
File: 6 KB, 299x168, fedora.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9390346

buy the fedora too!

>> No.9390370

It won't work. Someone who isn't a writer can't magically buy something arcane and be a writer.

Think about it. You'll spend a few minutes on your typewriter then move to your computer.

>> No.9390372

>>9390306
Typewriters are shit and offer zero advantages.
Buy a chromebook, boot it with Ubuntu, install your favorite word processor. Its what I did and its better in every way.

>> No.9390467
File: 534 KB, 880x654, Hemingwrite-WordProcessor-2.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9390467

>>9390306
Buy one of those $200 hipster writing machines. At least then you won't have to transcribe or OCR scan your shit.

>> No.9390474

>>9390306
You can come up with a million excuses and answers for them, but in the end, you will just make more.

>> No.9390480

>>9390370
Why do you assume things about me which you do not actually know?

>> No.9390520

>>9390467
That's the face of a guy who deserves to be culturally enriched by a gang of thugs

>> No.9390612

>>9390370
A craftsman can buy a tool to make him a better craftsman.

Sorry for the gendered language bruv.

>> No.9390673

>>9390306
>but rather because the computer is so distracting, so awful, and so annoying.
This really is a problem, this and annoying loud neighbours even late at night.

>> No.9390692
File: 22 KB, 450x576, 1492017481162.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9390692

>>9390467
I know a fucker who uses one of these and has spelling errors up the wazoo and he's getting published HOW I WILL NEVER KNOW

He watches cartoons (like, Disney and Nickelodeon) on mute while he does his work, puts on an album, and makes his own Freudian interpretations about them. His ideologies are complete shit.

>> No.9390704

>>9390692
>he's getting published HOW I WILL NEVER KNOW

he's probably jewish

>> No.9390709
File: 7 KB, 255x183, 1492218063173.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9390709

>>9390704
Actually, he's a quarter Jewish, but lies about it.
Here's a sample of his insanity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0yw37xQtoI
And if you can stand more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-lb5ZSfSrs

>> No.9390711

I've recently tried to use a typewriter and found the whole thing unbearable. I was in a similar place as you are:

>not because I think it looks good but rather because the computer is so distracting, so awful, and so annoying

Just download an app that will block distracting website (like /lit/) and then proceed to write. If you still can't do it, it means you're using this typewriter affair as a scapegoat to not write. If you eliminate the source of distraction and still think some device "which just by being looked at will already give me ideas" will be the one on which you will write, you might just be procrastinating.

>> No.9390717

>>9390306
I have a friend who wins a bunch of national prizes for his writing. If he's writing for school, he uses his laptop, but if he's writing fiction, he always uses his laptop. He says it helps him stay more deliberate and gives him less distractions. I'd kind of feel like a jerk with a typewriter. I also really like being able to move my text around on the screen and re-arrange my thoughts. It works for some people but not for everyone.

>> No.9390723

>>9390717
*He always uses his typewriter for writing fiction.

>> No.9390743

>>9390306
Why are you asking 4chan? If it's really that much of a distraction, don't even beat around the bush trying to buy a functioning typewriter that you can still get ribbons for - just buy a pack of loose leaf and write shit out in longhand.

I literally wrote half of my MA thesis with a pen and then transcribed it all.

>> No.9390778

>>9390306
Yeah go for it OP. Though the good ol pen and paper works just as well, you know, for being "single-function objects" to keep you undistracted.

>> No.9390787

>>9390480
Trust me, we know

>> No.9390862

I do the same thing with other hobbies. It might work for a while but the novelty wears off and you find a way to distract yourself.

>> No.9390941

>>9390711
This. If you have a real problem with distractions, just install another OS that doesn't have networking capabilities.

>> No.9390948

>>9390709
This guy is such a piece of shit.

Honestly, I can't believe someone made this unironically.

>> No.9390966
File: 48 KB, 800x600, Hermes.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9390966

>>9390306
I own pic related. It's a nice memento of a time and place, and a quality typewriter. I don't use it though. Internet is too useful a resource, and the ability to move chunks of text around is amazing. Cut and paste used to be literal terms.

Really only good for setting in front of a window and pounding out ideas/brainstorming without distractions. Not for drafts.

Use a fullscreen featureless text editor that forces you to concentrate, like jdarkroom. Or install linux like other anon said.

>> No.9390978

when i write my diary desu I play music with headphones on and turn off my screen.

its nice

>> No.9391045

>>9390306

Buy a shitty laptop and physically disable the wifi card.

>> No.9391203

>>9391045
I did that with my laptop by accident. Works pretty nicely.

>> No.9391233

There are numerous software applications that can put you in a full screen, minimalist word processor with no distractions that won't let you access certain websites for a predetermined amount of time. They're free.

>> No.9391314

>>9390306


U S E P A P E R

>> No.9391676

>>9390467
Aren't these for dyslexic kids?

>> No.9391680

>>9390306
Make sure you take it to your local Starbucks, fag.

>> No.9393445

>>9390467
Those are $500 by now.

>> No.9393454

Buy one of these

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5an7g307oDw

>> No.9393473

>>9390709
Ahaahaha holy shit, gonna post this on /co/

>> No.9393929

>>9390467
I want it

>> No.9394025

Another bonus to a typewriter is you're not staring at a screen. Same reason I hate ebooks

>> No.9394255

>>9390306
Serious question, what are the viable options for comfortable and portable word processors? I see the alphasmart 3000 seems kind of viable. I'm going to be travelling in a few weeks, and I don't really want to drag my laptop around with me everywhere, but I have a few writing projects I need to work on while I'm abroad. Is there anything slightly less archaic than the alphasmart but not as goofy as the Hemingwrite?

>> No.9394316

>>9390743
Yeah this. I use paper and pen for getting thoughts out, then transcribe and edit as I go onto a computer. I like sitting somewhere nice and writing and I like how the slower pace of writing by hand keeps my mind in sync with what's being put to paper. I can way out type my imagination.

>> No.9394342

>>9394255
You mean outside of just paper and a pen?

>>9394316
I think this is the entire reason for all of this. Whether it's a typewriter or a pen or a pencil you get to be in an area without worrying about it so much. I mean, sitting a laptop by a window runs the risk of overheating it or burning the screen.

>> No.9394386

>>9394342
Yeah. My handwriting is atrocious, and a lot of the work I have to do is translation work with the intention of publishing what I translate. It looks like the AlphaSmart Neo or Neo 2 would be a cheap solution.

>> No.9394739

While we're at it, I might reiterate my point about writing on your cell phone.

I downloaded Google Handwriting app and bought a decent non-rubber stylus and despite the occasional frustration with auto-predict, it's pretty fucking sweet. I can write like I normally would, still have a hand free to drink or smoke or whatever, and I don't have to transcribe shit. Though there are some typos to go through.

All I need now is the perfect writing program.

>> No.9394858

>>9394739
Why not just type in Keep or some other note-taking app like that? Do you really prefer writing with a finger or a thumb? Seems like a goofy, less optimal system than just typing.

>> No.9394907

>>9394858
Typing on a phone is cumbersome for longform, and takes up two hands. Handwriting with the app and a stylus (not my finger) isn't as fast as typing, but it's more comfortable for sitting long periods and feels like what a normal analog writing session would feel like.

>> No.9396097

>>9390306
I own a remmington rand, it was a birthday gift which I love but I rarely use it. It feels great to write with just becasue of its tactile nature and how much give there is to the keys but it does require a different level of maintenance. If you buy a typewriter that's not particularly popular you'll have a problem finding ribbon to replace it along with parts like the letter stamps if they break. Also prepare your anus for more typos than you've ever had to deal with in your life. I mainly use mine to write letters just becasue the typeface and the ink spray gives the paper it's own life, or so I like to think, but nothing is going to beat the speed of a computer and a word processor with spellcheck.

Also I agree with anons before me, it won't make you write any more or better than you already do.

>> No.9396135

Just buy some Pentium III or any other ancient PC on a yard sale for a couple of dollars, install a lightweight linux distro on it and use it as a dedicated writing device. Internet can't distract you if you can't connect to it.