What are your feelings towards writing with a typewriter?
I feel that you can better think about the permanence of your intended emotions to the page with a typewriter. The noise of the clattering keys seems to be a motivational one, allowing silence only for deep thought. You can't delete and there's the fantastic benefit of no internet (or even electricity!) to distract you.
But every time I say this to someone they laugh and call me a hipster. They think it's a gimmick. Granted, I could get the similar action by writing everything by hand, but somehow it's not as forceful. Plus my handwriting is horrendous and often causes confusion.
Pic related, a similar writer to my own.
>>8036279
only if you have tits like clarice lispector >>8033550
It has to be cool because Hank uses one in Californication, ask those people who call you a hipster if they would rather like you to sit in a starbucks with your macbook writing stupid short stories like everyone nowadays. Use what fits best for you and if a typewriter is your canalisator go and buy one.
>>8036282
I bought my one for £6 in a charity shop. There was one fault which is now fixed which was the little bell didn't chime. Now it does.
Doesn't the author of Game of Thrones write with an 80's compter program?
>>8036296
I think so..
Than use it! I personally use little blank books bec my handwriting is pretty nice and it is portable
>>8036316
I too like the portability of small notebooks. I name them in volumes, currently on Vol. 3.
>>8036279
It makes an assload more noise than I'd expect one to make.
>>8036279
There are good reasons to use one, and there are faggot hipster reasons.
Editing being more difficult is objectively bad unless you're some hyper ADD sperg that can't write to consecutive sentences without dozens of rewrites each.
Motivational clatter? Total hipster bull.
Being off the internet is good, but you could just as easily us an old machine with no wifi or disable your wifi yourself.
How about you faggots just buy a laptop and stop being so cringe inducing.
A typewriter in 2016? The fuck happened to this place.
>>8036334
Getting triggered by different personal preferences in 2016
What happened to the people coming to /lit/
>>8036333
Well it's perfect for first drafts.
>>8036334
WTF is happening to you. don't you know that coming back to past is good even for our mind health?
I totally agree, I don't have a typewriter, I used to and it was wreat to improve imagination, ortography, etc.
If the reasons are pure as the ones in the first post then you're not like this fucking hipsters out there tring to get attention.
>>8036344
>personal preferences
No, you're just being a little faggot. A laptop is a million times more convenient. If you can't work without checking Facebook every 2 minutes then disconnect your internet. Better yet, download a minimalistic writing suite and use that if you're some sort of ADD riddled manchild who gets triggered by font sizes.
There is absolutely no reason to use a typewriter in 2016. It's the equivalent of reading by candlelight when you have an electric lamp in your room.
>>8036357
>trying to get attention
Pointing out how dumb they are is somehow me trying to get attention? Sure bud, keep projecting. Also you write like a fucking moron.
>>8036359
What's wrong with reading by a candlelight? I can imagine it to be quite cosy. Also, the diffusion of light in the room might lead itself well to contemplation.
It seems to me that you need to widen your horizon a bit. Maybe read. Exersize might also do you good, because it seems you are propelled by coffee and/or angst, not the calm of endorphins.
>>8036387
I read On the Road in the bath by candlelight.
Wonderful book.
Another benefit is that a typewriter brings an instant hard copy.
No cloud malfunctions. Also when I said I get distracted it's usually by researching interesting things for story ideas. Like when victorians liked to be sealed into airtight coffins with glass face-panels upon death. Hour+ research.
I've been using an alphasmart neo and honestly it's pretty great for writing. Nearly eternal battery life, portability, save files... I mean it's essentially just a calculator with a keyboard but its kinda-sorta got that typewriter feel to it which is nice. I originally wanted an actual typewriter but some douche sniped me at an estate auction for a really nice one so I went online and rage bought my neo (actually a neo2, but it's the same thing really.) Haven't been disapppointed with anything other than the automatic 2 min. idle shutdown, which can be annoying but since the device starts up almost instantly it's not too bad.
The keys are also clacky if that's a pleasure trigger for you. Not obnoxiously loud though which makes it more acceptable for public usage than a traditional typewriter, I think.
>>8036406
That looks amazing. I've never seen them before, how do you move files to a computer?
E.L. James wrote Fifty Shades on her Blackberry... :/
>>8036418
There's a neo-to-usb cable that most sellers include with the purchase. You hook it up to a computer, open a word processor, press "send" and it'll emulate a keyboard and barf the words onto the page at a fast-ish rate. Not the most convenient method of transfer but if you write and transfer between sessions it's alright.
>>8036431
That sounds really good. Thank you Anon, I remember looking for a small word processor with a portability aspect and this is right on the money.
I've just finished a degree and have tons of time on my hands to create a book. I've moved to a new area and would love to write on the go.
>>8036987
No, just no.
I don't see any problem with writing on one at home. Just don't be the dork carrying around a portable one.
DeLillo still writes everything on a typewriter.
I haven't used or even seen typewriter in ages. I would really like to write something with one. I remember doing some shitty novels as a kid and really liking the experience.
If you use it yourself and like using it, you can't really be a pretentious hipster. But of course, if you're in a coffee shop clack-clack-clacketing away and drawing all the attention to yourself like this bozo >>8036987, then I could see someone calling you a filthy, disgusting hipster.
>>8037016
They're relatively cheap. Cheaper to run than a computer. Lol.
Cheaper to buy.
>he doesn't just go out and buy a Chromebook
>>8036279
as usual some particular retards shit something up for the rest of us. people hate these machines because pretentious idiots using them to write their 500 000 word fantasy novel and bring it up every time someone even mentions books or anything related to literature. as someone mentioned, delillo still uses one, and i agree with the positive aspects you listed. i use a pencil and paper for the same reasons because i can't find a cheap, good typewriter. i get hand cramps but they have almost disappeared in the last year.
>>8036279
I use my laptop with focus writer.
>>8037112
I had looked into a thing on kickstarter called the Hemingwrite - an electric typewriter. But I was put off by the price and the fact that it's kind of pointless when I have a perfectly good normal analog typewriter.
>>8037092
>Google anything
into the trash it goes
can you assholes use a pencil for once
>>8036359
This.
>he doesn't have a PC with a mechanical keyboard
never ever going to make it
Am from Minnesota.
Where can I get a cheap portable typewriter?
My laptop screen just isn't conducive to writing.
>>8037371
Your task in these dreams is often to pens, though.
>>8037371
But that's not deeeeeep enough.
I used my grandparents typewriter out of curiosity when I was a kid. They are neat novelty items, but otherwise completely obsolete. Replacement ink is incredibly hard to find and likely expensive, the impression of each character on the paper isn't consistent, and worst of all since everyone here is no doubt conditioned to making frequent misclicks on keyboards because of the convenience of the backspace key, your pages will be covered in a bunch of unsightly dark letters as a result on typos that can only be "removed" by you typing over the word again and again until the wrong letter is completely overwritten.
It's quite literally on par with using super 8 film for personal videos and awful, faded polaroids for taking pictures with your friends. It's kind of cool, but only deluded faggy hipsters do it in a practical context.
>>8037530
You're actually supposed to look at the keyboard when using a typewriter, to minimize mistakes. For computers obviously they teach you the opposite.
>>8036279
Typewriters are for aging luddites, queers, and prissy limp-wristed ladyboys.
Typewriters go for £20 online, and the ink spool is about £5.
>>8037732
Do you think anyone fucking cares, namefag?
GX6750 master race reporting in
>>8037530
silly, when you make a mistake you are supposed to use a correction pen / tape and only then to type it over
>>8037589
it's not true. touch typing was invented way before any computers somewhere in the end of 19th century, one can't type any fast if they look at the keyboard
>>8036279
Can't work on computers, can't write on paper, a typewriter would really be ideal for me.
I use a mechanical keyboard. I enjoy the clickety-clackety and the solid feel of the keys. It makes cruising through college essays that much more satisfying.
There is an aesthetic experience to writing which is complemented by what specific device you are using. If you find a certain way of writing more satisfying, power to you.
>>8036406
how is the linux support? i've thought about getting one of these since they're so cheap and seem to have good battery life. but from what i've read there's a driver you have to install, and i can't find anything about using one with linux.
do any of the alphasmart models just send to a usb drive?
>>8036279
typewriters worked for a few generations of writers and there's no reason why they shouldn't work now. it's all about your style. personally, i prefer to dump whatever is in my head onto the page; i'll start sentences i think might just be shit that actually spark an idea, and on a computer it's easy to hold backspace for 2.6 seconds and replace it. i would lose stuff like that on a typewriter, i think.
>>8036280
"mitou"
>>8036279
If I had a typewriter I'd probably write on it so I could be free of distractions beyond writing.
>>8036279
It is a gimmick. But whatever, if it helps you write then go for it.
Don't tell people about it, though.
I hate people that talk about writing. And I don't mean people that talk about craft. I mean people that have to mention that they write or tell a story where they 'were writing'.
>>8036279
>not using a quill and inkwell on parchment
You're all plebs and a slow, painful death is too good for you.
>>8039673
Don't have a Neo, but I have an alphasmart Dana, which is basically a Palm III with a keyboard and a wider screen, I just tested the method >>8036431 mentioned where the alphasmart acts like a usb keyboard, using a normal A-to-B usb cable it worked pretty well (using libre office on Linux Mint 17), but the text formatted a bit oddly (horizontal lines between paragraphs) but all the actual content is there and it can be fixed easily.
Using this technique doesn't send over any styling (the Dana has richer formatting like italics or bold and a few fonts, it uses Alphaword for the PalmOS, not sure if the Neo/Neo2 have these formatting options).
The Dana also had SD card slots but used an odd format that I still haven't found a converter for (not even a format spec actually). So, I've never tried this, also it's old enough that it won't recognize SD cards larger than 512MB or so.
I bought a (used, obviously) typewriter and it's pretty noisy. Is it supposed to be that way, the ones in movies always have a nice clicking sound to them?
>>8040244
It's literally a metal arm fwapping against a piece of paper. Yes, they're loud.
>>8036279
Anon, just get a mechanic keyboard with cherry MX blue switches. It's the same sound, hell you can even slightly tweak it if you want. Then fit the same streamline writing experience, use a text editor like notepad, gedit, neovim, or emacs (not a document editor or office suite like Microsoft word). There are plenty options with some that are completely full screen without boarders. The benefits of having your writing already written digitally are huge. Give it a shot. It will be more practical and less try hard
>>8036279
Someone should invent something like a typewriter that, instead of typing on paper, sends the pressed keys as electric impulses through a cable hooked to a computer say, through USB or even wirelessly, and the text would actually show up on the screen. Just imagine that: the best of both worlds. I bet a thing like this, if successful, would sell for a lot of money.
