Typewriter Brigade

YAY BRIGADIERS! WE'RE BACK!

Summer, I'm jealous. A Skywriter's on my list of typewriters to acquire.

Right now, all I have is a Smith-Corona Silent Super that I adore. Adore. Its the reason I even write today. I don't know if I'll be using it for NaNo, if only because I don't like transcribing things onto the computer and am too lazy to get my OCR to work, but be sure that it will be helpful! I've already started to use it to collect notes and non-killer plot bunnies!

Who else is with us?!?

I'm in! What else am I going to do with these things? I have...
- a Royal portable, gorgeous machine, loud, but my favorite to write with.
- a Smith-Corona Galaxie 12. Portable(ish) and hard to type on.
- an Underwood, full-size. Technically belongs to my mum, but as long as I'm going to be a moocher, might as well mooch her typewriter too. Kind of creaky to type with, but otherwise nice.
- a Continental, full-size. Still need to take a degreaser to it. Typebars are bent out of whack though, so I may need to fix that as well before it's in working order.
- an Olivetti-Underwood Studio 44, a semi-portable that came from Goodwill. (It followed me home, Ma, I swear!) It types in cursive though, so I probably won't be using it as my main NaNoing machine. It'll make great chapter headings though.

There's also the eBay purchase, a Remington No. 5, currently in a state of partial disassembly as I try to figure out where to re-attach the carriage return string. I may have it ready by November, but I don't have high hopes.

I believe mine is an AT&T typewriter from the eighties; other then that I don't know much about it. It's electronic so I don't have too many issues with getting it to work; except when it wants to make a lot of random skips between lines. I'll be using it as much as I can; as I don't always get too much in the way of computer usage.

I would be using a smith-corona that I found in my attic recently; but several keys had been disconnected when I found it.

WOOHOO for typewriters!

Re: the Smith-Corona— check out this site, especially the second paragraph of the first section. It sounds like your problem exactly, and that it's not too hard to fix.

Anyway, welcome to the Brigade! You're new this year, aren't you?

Brigadiers, if you're not already a member, join the TYPEWRITERS and The Portable Typewriter Forum on yahoo! groups. These people are awesome, and a post can solve pretty much any problem that you might have with a typewriter.

I'm in it to win it, baby. Probably on Gomez, my Olympia SM3 and Norma Jean, my Underwood Touchmaster, though I've a smattering of other machines at-hand, including a Skyriter for any write-ins. Gotta show off the Typer Pride.

Everyone's welcome (and encouraged) to post on the corresponding flickr group as well:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/typewriter_brigade/

Gads, is it nearly October already? Anyone doing any pre-writing? I've been building up a stack of 3x5 cards of ideas since Spring, so I hope I've got enough to sustain 50,000 this year. I managed last year on the laptop, but only just. I'm looking forward to writing on a more distraction-free machine this year.

I do own a typewriter (it's a electric Brother-something that's a bit yellow) and I've used it during the summer to break writer's block. I didn't bring it with me to college. I go home for Thanksgiving Break around Week 3 but hopefully I'll stay on my laptop and won't need to use it! :)

Hey, all! This year I plan on typing one of two novels on my typewriter(s) and joining y'all in this crusade!

I own a:
- Imperial Model 50 (catchy name, eh?) which is beautiful and 76 years old
- Portable something-or-other (I kinda forgot... It wasn't a common/notable name and it's maybe 30 years old)

This will be my first time typing anything substantial on a typewriter and fingers crossed all goes according to plan!

-Although that just reminded me that when taking it out of the box the other day, a rubber wheel of some sort fell off and while it doesn't seem to have affected the typewriter in any way, for the life of me I can't figure out where it came from!

-Lissa

As much as I'd like to write this year's effort on my 70 year old Underwood, time and speed are of the essence this year, and I fret that too much time would be lost.

Do any of you find, or have any of you found, that using a typewriter has cost you too much time?

Well...when I saw the forums were up I was gonna wait for Duffy Moon to do the honors, but since apparently we're diving in anyhow....

I'm in again. I'll mostly use the big SG-3 I acquired about a month ago. It has a nifty Senatorial typeface (looks like robot font, or something otherwise sci-fi-ish). I just had the platen recovered, so it's all refurbished and ready to go! I am very much in love with that beast. It has a plain face, but a beautiful soul.

I'll probably use my very beat Hermes 3000 (the primary typer last year) if I get stuck and feel like I need a change of pace. Sometimes just a switch is all it takes to get around a block.

If I overcome my fear of typewriting in public, I'll likely use the nicer of my two functional SM-9s, as it's closest to the SG-3 (all the keys are in familiar places), and has the best case for dragging around. But fear of public typing makes that highly unlikely. It's the sound. I'm not so much worried about being stared at...but I really don't want to annoy anyone, and there's just no way to get around sharing the click-clack ding. I love it...others may not. I did figure out that a bit of clay or some such thing can mute the bell, but the typing part is still loud. The Hermes is probably the quietest typer (probably due to the enclosed base), but its case has...issues, shall we say.

Chikken, I can't speak for everyone, but last year (my first typewrimo), I finished five days early. For what that's worth.

I may not be the best control subject, since I'm also one of those nutty individuals who has managed to finish NaNo by hand....but I don't think the typewriter was any slower than any other method. For me, it was probably faster, since on the computer I have a nasty habit of wasting precious time moving and "correcting" one or two words over and over.

Ah, I don't have a typewriter, but I think they'd be really awesome to get x] By the time I was a youngin' they were already pretty much replaced by computers, but still. *Is going to try and hunt one down now*

(There's nothing better than cracking open that door and finding the party is already started!)

Welcome back, TypeWrimos!
And welcome to new Brigadiers!

This year finds me 1) with way more confidence than last year: I now KNOW I can do this, and that (oddly) it can be done much more easily on a typewriter than on a PC (YMMV), also: 2) with way more typewriters than I had at this point last year. Let this be a warning to you -- you can never have too many of these wonderful noveling machines. Even if you're not actually *looking* for typewriters, they have a way of finding you.

I'm so glad to be looking at a new NaNo season, with all of my old (and new) friends.

Let's make some noise.

Here's a Real Life Tale of Typing Wonder (tm) -- over a recent vacation, I typed 46 and a half pages of a first draft story in three days, and this was without any pre-planning and just a nugget of story. Since going back and revising is such a chore on a manual machine, I just gave myself permission to skip it... and was much faster for it. Like rosie, I seem to be unable to stop myself from backspacing, editing, and tweaking the occasional word as it comes by. Multiply that by 30 days, and I'd lose a lot of time to on-the-fly editing.

I just bought a Brother typewriter (the only thing I can find regarding a model is an "Accord 12", but I can't find anything about that model online) for $25, and aside from the fact that it kind of needs a new ribbon, I couldn't be happier. It's a portable manual, which makes me very happy.

My overall plan is to type the majority of the novel on that, but every weekend, take an hour or so to type it up on the computer so I have another copy, and also to make editing easier once December comes around.

Ha, we're even, thanab! I'm jealous of your Silent Super; that's one I'm hoping desperately will somehow magically appear. I wannnnnt one.

Hehehehe. The Silent-Super is a sexy babe.

If I had another one, I'd trade you, but I don't, and I'm not giving up my baby. :D

I have a typewriter! Well, actually, I have two, but, one of them I'm going to give to one of my best friends, because I'm not using it anymore. And, last year, I did NOT own a typewriter, I am soo happy I do now!

I've been desperate for the forums to come back up so I could hunt down this thread!

Can I be made an honorary member? I won't be writing the full 50k on a typewriter, since my typing speed is about 15 wpm on it at the moment - but I'll certainly be writing some of it. =D (Assuming, of course, I manage to find a ribbon in time, since Staples in this country don't sell the catch-all Universal Ribbon I've been hearing so many good things about. Gah.)

And finding ribbons to fit a Scheidegger Princess-Matic is proving easier said than done...

Oh, sure. As soon as I actually get around to posting something, the server crashes and deletes it. Doh.

Anyway, I too have to ask for membership in the Brigade. I belong here like nowhere else. As much as I like to write, I never seem to get anything done when I'm using a computer. My inner editor and the backspace key are in cahoots, I just know it. I absolutely love the lack of delete features on a typewriter. :)

This is my first NaNoWriMo, but my novel idea has been bouncing around in my head for something like seven years now, and it's demanding to be let out. Here's hoping!

I have a Brother manual portable typewriter of some sort. I will probably use it every time that I start getting into a bind plot-wise. There's just something about typing on it that's so much nicer than anything else I've found so far. I'm too lazy to get up off of my computer and over to the room where the typewriter is, so I'll post what type it is later. ^^

Welcome back old friends, and welcome to the party new friends! I'm still not certain to what extent I'll be able to participate this year, or precisely which machine I want to use. Most likely either the SM4 or the 1940 Corona Sterling. However, I am tempted to mix it up a little and give the Erika 5 its first lengthy project; that machine is fracking fast!

I'm hoping to do most of my NaNo on my ABC portable. I'm a typewriter newbie, and only got it a couple of months ago I think. I can't find a picture of it at the moment though, I might take one later. I bought it for $10 or so at an op shop. They're few and far between where I live, so finding them is hard. I'm currently on the lookout for a non-portable one though. I also have Brother electric one in the garage, but I can't find somewhere that stocks ink for it. Woe!

Also, has anyone tried modifying a manual typewriter? I mean, does anyone think there's a way to somehow hook the keys up to the inner parts of a computer keyboard, so that we could type on the manual typewriters as per normal, but also have a cable running discreetly behind the desk in to a computer/laptop so that we wouldn't have to type them up twice? Or is this less original than I thought? Just incase anyone's tried something similar before :-)

isabella-rayne: there's been a couple of notable projects converting a typewriter into a computer keyboard. I'm very fond of this one:

http://www.multipledigression.com/type/

Search for "Steampunk Computer" for more, although many of those are made from the results of "keychopping": brutally cutting the keys off a working typewriter.

Hello, everyone; at the suggestion of another member I thought I'd just post and let folks know I'm a member here. Although I have no intention of writing a novel (having written many papers on typewriters for many years) I do have a great interest in the continued use of the machines, as well as a keen interest in the approach and mentality of younger authors using typewriters for the first time in earnest. I intend to check this forum regularly, particularly during that critical November which everyone tells me is so exciting around here and which I'm looking forward to very much. Should anyone require any pointers or, worse, repair direction and not be a member of my Portable Typewriter Forum I'll make every attempt to answer questions here during November to provide some sort of further reason for my being here!

-Will Davis

Yay! First year here and way too excited.

Going to be typing on my Remington Quiet Riter (June) and Selectric I (Doris). Also! Word on the street is that I may have a Olivetti Lettera 32 on the way, so I may as well as it as well.

I've got my lovely blue Royal Quiet de Luxe all cleaned and primed and looking pretty. I'll be dividing my writing time between roughing in a notebook, initial drafts on the Royal and typing it all into the computer at the end of the week. A picture is coming soon!

Hot diggity!! It's good to be back!

Although I participated in the Brigade last year I came upon NaNo too late to try it. So this will be my first attempt. I have an idea for plot and characters in mind but don't want to get too detailed with planning. I want to see where the characters and ideas lead me. My one completed novel started as a 2 page prologue to another story. 350 pages later I had a book and never got around to the original story.

The big question is which typewriter(s) to use. This will likely be an Olympia event. The SG1 will be the primary machine. It's industructible and can hold up to my less-than-delicate touch. It's also the smoothest typer I have and makes the strongest impression on the paper. Since I use carbon paper to make a backup copy, it will do the job. (I'm giving the Underwood Master standard a rest for November.) If I take the show on the road It will be with an Olympia SM3, SM4, or SM9. I have an outdoor spot in mind that would be ideal for some typing while surrounded by the colors and weather of autumn. If I happen to type in public, I will likely take the 1949 Royal Quiet DeLuxe. It really is quiet and has a restful sound as keys hit paper. Of course there are always the Olivetti 21, a 1938 Sterling, a 1955 SC Silent, etc. God! What a burden to have to chose among such jewels.

If you are worried about a typewriter slowing you down, don't! I get more and faster work done on that first draft with a manual typewriter than by any other means. (My wife, who is the only person to see the first drafts, tells me my writing done on a manual typewriter is better.) As others have mentioned, typewriters keep you from cahooting with that inner editor and lets you get on with the production.

I don't know if this applies to everyone but I can sit and type for longer periods on a manual machine than on a computer. It is physically more comfortable. I would be curious if others have found this to be true for them.

Regards, Jeff

I am a lurker on the Yahoo Portable Typewriter forum: a friend of mine has done this for years and I have a 'new' Smith Corona Silent to break in. (It should be back from the shop any day now.)

I am a veteran of the International 3-Day Novel writing contest (something I doubt I'd attempt on a typewriter since I've needed every hour of it without OCR-wrangling.)

I have no idea what I'm going to write, if anything. But I thought I'd try. Erm, I have an Observation Deck (http://www.observationdeck.com/deck/index.htm) I've never done more than glance at.

I don't plan: I just write. This could be good... this could be bad.

-ElleEs

Yep, I've noticed that, too! After a while at a computer keyboard, my wrists begin to hurt, but I could go for hours on a typewriter without discomfort. A typewriter's "stairstep" keyboard feels more ergonomic, and unlike at the computer the base of my hands never rest on anything, giving my wrists more flexibility.

You notice we never heard about carpel tunnel syndrome until computers became commonplace?