Typewriters: The Typewriter Brigade

The clickety clack of the keys isn't easily replaceable by some fancy tablet's sound effects. Nothing is like the feel of an old-school typewriter.

Rolling old-school? Talk about it here!

A few months back I tried writing my screenplay with my typewriter. Worked really well, so I'm going to give it another whirl and hopefully the clackity-clack-clack with shoot some inspiration into my novel.

Mine's a pink 1950's Royal, if anyone is curious :) Here's a picture on one of my blogs.

Welcome to a fresh year Typewriter Brigade!! I can't wait to see everyone again this year, and the machines we will be working with.

Ahhh! The aroma of NaNo is in the air! Now to begin the delicate task of deciding which typewriter will be my primary machine. I made an unofficial decision to use portables this year and give the massive desktops a month respite. The current candidates are an Olympia SM4 and the Olivetti 21. The SC Silent-Super is making a strong case for VP in charge of outside the house efforts. Of course, this is all subject to change, as always. And a Lamy Safari fountain pen, along with a pad, is available for those typewriterless moments.

Now I just need a story idea. Hmmm!

I couldn't participate last year and have been looking forward to this for months. Welcome back, everyone.

Jeff

Has anyone noticed that this year's badges have typewriters on them? :3 At least one set of them.

I have honestly been looking forward to this since last November. Countdown and everything! I've even convinced several members of my family to join in this year; as if my insanity didn't scare them off last year.

I agree though, choosing which model to be my main typewriter for this NaNo season is quite daunting but I do know that it will be portable. Big Bertha, my Underwood Noiseless, is just not appropriate for this NaNo season. I'm leaning towards my Royal QDL that I adore. Not to heavy to lug around and types lovely! Another option is my Smith-Corona Galaxie Deluxe named Ziggy. A third contender in this NaNo guessing game is the Royal Aristocrat that I purchased this summer. However, due to a sudden death in the family and driving out to California for a month I have yet to test this machine extensively....

BullRunBear, I've gotta ask now. How does your Lamy Safari pen write? I'm thinking of purchasing one either shortly before NaNo or after it as a prize to me for winning.

Got my Lettera 22 adjusted for commute use and plan to use the HH a lot at home, but will probably mix a lot of others in. Can't wait to start!

I'm back for another year!

Woo hoo! The 2011 edition of the Brigade! You know November's around the corner for sure now. I've got some trouble this year, with a possible business trip smack dab in the second week of Nano. I've got a couple portables, but I have my doubts on my ability to transport them to the site and back.

(Puts thinking cap on)

Simon

It's good to be back with the Brigade! I tried Camp NaNo this past July, and it just didn't happen for me. Why? Because there was no Brigade around, that's why. I'm not going to be trampled by the Rhino this fall like I was this summer.

Welcome back everyone.
Y'all realize this is YEAR NUMBER FIVE for the Typewriter Brigade?
(sniff) They grow up so fast, don't they?
Since I apparently don't know when I'm licked, I'm back for another try at this.
I'm busy calibrating my Electromagnetic Plot Snatcher on the Moon Family roof. Should be receiving a signal any day now.

Booyah! I've got my Remington and Smith-Corona waiting, and might even enlist my poor old Olivetti with the busted lever.

Well, my post is missing, but this year, I'm heading up the Typewriter Mafia yet again. I don't got a working NaNo caliber typewriter, so you know, I'll be representing those who are still members just not active, if that makes sense.

Selene,

The Lamy Safari is an astonishing value. I bought one with an EF nib for about 35 bucks wich included the converter. I prefer to use bottled ink. It is smooth and absolutely reliable, never fails to write immediately. I liked it so much I got another one the same week. It is my go-to pen when away from the desk. One of them is now the best editing pen I've ever used, filled with Noodler's Widow Maker red ink. They don't match my Pelikan fountain pens (my favorites) but they are excellent and cost less than one tenth what a good Pelikan or Waterman will set you back.. I haven't tried the broader nibs (yet) but only because the EF nibs suit me so well.

Jeff

I have declared the Lamy Safari the official pen of the typosphere. They seem to go well with typewriters...

I have one of the aqua variety, with a fine nib. It's purty.

Hi, I'm RosieCotton, known elsewhere as Little Flower Petals, LFP, or Elizabeth. I've been here forever: this will be my tenth year, which is either really cool, really sad, or really scary, depending on your perspective. I will likely do most of this year by hand (pencils are my weapon of choice for starting out, though I'll likely use fountain pens as well), but have plenty of typewriters around for when the mood strikes. At home, the best is a giant Olympia SG-1, and when out and about, lately it's the plain little grey Lettera 31 that gets the most use.

I'm Candace, or satchmotypes, and this is my 7th year of NaNo, 2nd using typewriters. :D

I have a Smith-Corona Skywriter as the super-portable favorite for most of my writing...and I'm going to try to borrow my friend's Royal KMM for desktop madness.

Now all I need is a plot...or maybe a character...or...something! Then again, maybe not. ;)

If anyone in or near southern New Mexico needs a typewriter, I'm also willing to lend, though I recognize that the logistics could be prohibitive.

Ahhhhh......

It's good to be home!! Still not sure what machine I'll be using this November. SC Classic 12? Royal HH? It's good to have choices!

All my favorites are pica, so much like last year, I can sit at home and write with my Olympia SG1 in my closet (yes, my closet is where its set up on a typing table) or a Hermes 3000 on my lap (or on the road or "in" the car, I suppose) or toss my Olivetti Lettera 32 in my backpack and write out and about! Add in an Olympia SM9 (my 2009 nanowriter) and I've got many options for many moods, but all look and formatted identically on paper.

This worked well for me last year and made my page counts really easy to gauge. 3.5 pages, single spaced / day and all is good in my house!

I think this may be my first year creeping into the Typewriter Brigade. Do I still qualify if I also use my laptop and tablet?

I owned a typewriter when I was a kid, but my parents donated it to a museum while I was at summer camp (cue sad music). I bought an electric typewriter at a Goodwill recently and fell in love. A Coronamatic, but I have my eye on several manual typewriters at the antique shops downtown. Do want. Waaaaant.