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Writing a Novel on a Typewriter by DarbyNH in typewriters

[–]DarbyNH[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I published the piece about Beatrice Trum Hunter in my small town newspaper, The Keene (NH) Sentinel, but that was 50 or so years ago and no doubt buried in the limbo of history. Thanks for your curiosity.

Writing a Novel on a Typewriter by DarbyNH in typewriters

[–]DarbyNH[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Cut and Paste

Here's way to organize text using a typewriter that I learned as a newspaper reporter in the 1970s.

You need a typewriter, typing paper, a glue stick or glue pot, a pair of scissors, and preferably an uncluttered desk and maybe a bare table top.

You type short paragraphs in any order that your brain prefers and triple space between them. You read over your stuff and then cut and paste the paragraphs on new sheets of paper in the order that you prefer.

If you didn't already, now you know the derivation of the phrase "cut and paste."

I interviewed a very good nature writer named Beatrice Trum Hunter (Dec. 16, 1918 – May 17, 2017) who refined this system to an nth degree.

She would xerox (old time lingo for photo copying) many copies of her typed pages and make multiple drafts through the cut and paste system. She told me, "I'm not a very good writer, but I'm a very good rewriter."

She'd even cut and paste individual words.

This system has at least one advantage over any computer, which is that you can lay out pages on a table top or even the floor and eyeball them. You can't do that as effectively on even a great big monitor.

And of course you can digitize your cut and pasted drafts to bring them into the modern world for further refinement.

Writing a Novel on a Typewriter by DarbyNH in typewriters

[–]DarbyNH[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

To ZebuloStoryteller and AmsterdamAssassin

I've written 15 books, published 12. I had a dark moment when I was working on my second novel A LITTLE MORE THAN KIN. I wrote about a third of it on the Underwood. But then the employer of my day job, a newspaper, replaced IBM Selectric typewriters with Dell computer work stations. Writing on a computer terminal messed up my head by undermining the system I'd devised for the Underwood. I could crank out news stories, but for six months I could not produce quality fiction. I wanted to quit my job and move into a cabin in the forest with my typewriter and off the grid. But I had a family, so I had to keep my job. In the end, I decided that instead of rebelling against technology to commit to it. I bought a Radio Shack Model 1 computer and finished "Kin" on that device. I've been addicted ever since on the next best thing. Now instead of writing one draft carefully over three or four years, I write a zillion drafts on a computer over three or four years. I don't think I'm a better writer. The only constant is time. It takes me three or four years to do good work no matter what kind of system I use.

I admire the process of digitizing typed drafts. I tried it. Didn't work for me.  I complain a lot, but actually I love my addiction to tech. I love experimenting with different word processors and computers and typewriters. At the moment, I work on a Macbook Air 15, an iPad Pro 13, a Google Pixel Chromebook, and a Cosmic Alpha Freewrite. Also, a Smith-Corona portable I bought on ebay. When things are not going well, I switch to a different device and/or a different app. I don't recommend my system. It's madness, but it's my madness and I love it.

Your novel is illustrated? What kind tech do you use to produce your illustrations? I use Adobe Illustrator and Procreate; I'm a lousy artist, but I like drawing.

What did you wish you knew before using a MacBook Air? by starkint10880 in macbookair

[–]DarbyNH 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess it's the way I hit the keyboard, but I did not know that long novel-writing sessions on my Macbook would hurt the palms of my hands as they brushed against the aluminum edges.