21-9-14

 Typewriter. I pretend to write sometimes and the stories have been getting a first draft on a typewriter. It slows me down relative to a computer, but is faster than a pen on paper. I could write more about it, but it's all been said before. I remember reading about some current famous author who still, to this day, runs a first draft through a typewriter. Ray Bradbury wrote the first draft of Fahrenheit 451 on a rented typewriter. And it's rumored that Stephen King to this day on occasion still writes with a typewriter though he's also credited with writing one of the earliest books ever completed on a word processor. He also wrote longhand when he was seriously injured in a car accident and couldn't use a keyboard. I think what this really means is, Stephen King is an insatiable writer. 

This bit of text was written on a Smith Corona I got off Craigslist for $40 a few years ago. It's a bit light and tends to scooch around on the table when I type. The feet aren't sticky enough and the typewriter isn't heavy enough to stay put. Each jump of the carriage causes the typewriter to wander a bit, but if you use the carriage return bar "just so" you can reseat the machine where it should be at the end of each typed line. 

It's kind of a shit typewriter. I have an Underwood typewriter that was given to me that's over 100 years old. It's a bit sticky and needs some attention but I've been inspired by writing with the Smith Corona today. Maybe I'll haul the old Underwood out to the garage and douse it with penetrating oil.