I may be only twenty years old, but I prefer using a typewriter to any other means of writing and expression.
Ever since I was a kid, seven years old or so, I've wanted to be an author. I finished several books before I ever graduated high school. All of these words I piled on microsoft word, trusting my windows '99 to keep my stories safe. I was proven wrong as I lost some 2,000 pages due to my computer crashing.
After enough of this blasphemous insanity of dealing with computers crashing, I purchased my first typewriter. My first was a manual underwood portable circa 1923. Sure, the thing was old and rickety. I ran into some problems, and, slowly but surely learned to fix it up and fix various things that would go wrong with said typer.
My first typewriter seen above.
Next, I began a frenzied collection of typewriters. I now own somewhere between 12-13 typewriters, mostly manuals, a few portables, and lot of big clunky stationary typewriters. I found them all for under ten dollars, learned how to remove the rust, fix broken belts and make them really shine with Brasso's polish.
To back up all of my writing I use a scanner to scan all the pages onto the computer and then upload them all onto an image hosting website.
There is something different about typing on a typewriter as opposed to typing on a computer. One of my favorite quotes is from Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy:
To back up all of my writing I use a scanner to scan all the pages onto the computer and then upload them all onto an image hosting website.
There is something different about typing on a typewriter as opposed to typing on a computer. One of my favorite quotes is from Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy:
"Research, communication, shopping and generally fiddling about. In the old days, writers used to sit in front of a typewriter and and stare out the window. Nowadays, because of the marvels of convergent technology, the thing you type on and the window you stare out of are the same thing."
That quote has always stuck with me ever since I read it. I am, for the record, a huge Douglas Adams fan. I have "don't panic" tattooed on my wrist. I think it's the most important lesson I have ever learned in a book.
I suppose there wasn't much a point to this rambling and babbling of typewriters and light bulbs. Well, minus the light bulbs.
I suppose what I'm trying to get at here is that I have started to like the idea of having my own blog and am coming to terms with that fact. As for the posts that are to follow this one - I'm not yet sure what all of that madness is to entail. I am a very opinionated person, yet I value ones ability to make their own decisions based on their own individual preferences and beliefs.
QUOTE SOURCE:
http://www.douglasadams.com/contacts/
I suppose there wasn't much a point to this rambling and babbling of typewriters and light bulbs. Well, minus the light bulbs.
I suppose what I'm trying to get at here is that I have started to like the idea of having my own blog and am coming to terms with that fact. As for the posts that are to follow this one - I'm not yet sure what all of that madness is to entail. I am a very opinionated person, yet I value ones ability to make their own decisions based on their own individual preferences and beliefs.
QUOTE SOURCE:
http://www.douglasadams.com/contacts/
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1 comment:
Hey, Chloe. Followed the link from your comment at my blog.
My experience with computers is almost the opposite of yours. I was an Internet holdout for a long time, and had enormous piles of typewritten manuscripts. I switched to a word processor, and soon wondered how I'd done without the ability to cut and paste, easily correct typos, etc. Then when I finally went online around 2000, I was amazed at the connectivity: for someone who'd only had letters to the editor published, the ability to post to email lists of hundreds, create websites, to link to large networks of likeminded people, etc., was overwhelming.
Since then I've had a couple of books published by an on-demand publisher. Only a few hundred copies sold so far, but if it weren't for the world the Internet opened up for me (and the readership I was able to build up), I'd still be piling up paper manuscripts.
I know the grief of losing my work to a computer crash. After my first desktop crash a few years ago, I got in the habit of emailing textfiles of my work to myself so I could recover it by accessing my web-based email account from a public library if my hard drive went out on me. You might find it helps. It's about the fastest and easiest way I know of to back stuff up.
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