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Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

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Re: Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

#31
post #20

I was toying with buying a typewriter and a scanner and then using said typewriter for all first drafts and scanning them into the computer with OCR software to save time having to type them up. However I ended up discovering that the Apple Pencil and handwriting recognition in Nebo Notes is insanely good so I use that instead. I still might end up trying out the typewriter/scanner method at some point in the future…

It would be easier probably to build a computer keyboard with no backspace or arrows. Or to just remap those keys to noop. I’m deep in the keyboard hobby, but it’s definitely on my todo list to build a write-only keyboard.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

#32
post #30
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Writing with pen (or pencil) on paper gives you "paged" real-time random access, plus the ability to illustrate at any resolution. The satisfying scratch of the roller ball on the paper tooth is also available in some hardware configurations. I agree about the typewriter but there's a lot to be said for actual writing too.

The issue I have with pen-and-paper writing is that I don't have the stamina to do it for long. It's quite a work out for your hand.

One thing that helped me with this was getting good quality pencils where I can use a minimal amount of pressure (a non-ballpoint pen also works). I also had to unlearn gripping the pencil hard and tensing my wrist. Good handwriting doesn't require tension: tension can occur because of misplaced effort at trying to write more nicely.

I relearned the motions of how to handwrite using Briem's handwriting repair curriculum: https://sites.google.com/view/briem/free-books/handwriting-r... Now I really enjoy writing by hand. Of course if I'm writing quickly the quality isn't as nice as when I can take more time.

There is a section on the site specifically about hand tension here: https://sites.google.com/view/briem/handwriting/writing-cram...

Re: Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

#33
post #20

I was toying with buying a typewriter and a scanner and then using said typewriter for all first drafts and scanning them into the computer with OCR software to save time having to type them up. However I ended up discovering that the Apple Pencil and handwriting recognition in Nebo Notes is insanely good so I use that instead. I still might end up trying out the typewriter/scanner method at some point in the future…

Tangentially related: a high-regarded literary editor from my country told me that he seems to notice more text-level details when he is reading somebody's draft on an e-reader, as compared to working with a paper printout. I think I have had a similar experience myself.

+1 also on Gaiman's thoughts. I have done a lot of writing (professional level journalism, closet-level fiction). I almost always write a better first draft longhand -- probably because writing by hand is so much slower, you'll end up with a much more concise sentence.

From another perspective, I recently finished "The Kindly Ones" by Jonathan Littell. 900+ pages of Kafka-style wall of text -- but I often just couldn't put the book down. So stream of consciousness still seems to work from a reader's perspective, too; maybe computers do give some "oomph" to a writer who prefers this style, the kind of feverish way of writing. That said, "The Kindly Ones" is definitely a unique, remarkable, even incredible book; part of its power surely lays in the fact that Littell reportedly did some 10 years of research prior to writing it.

There have also been prolific and influential writers in the past who composed their drafts in pen shorthand. Iirc, in Europe, Astrid Lindgren was one (and I believe she was actually trained as a touch typist).

Re: Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

#34
post #30
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Writing with pen (or pencil) on paper gives you "paged" real-time random access, plus the ability to illustrate at any resolution. The satisfying scratch of the roller ball on the paper tooth is also available in some hardware configurations. I agree about the typewriter but there's a lot to be said for actual writing too.

The issue I have with pen-and-paper writing is that I don't have the stamina to do it for long. It's quite a work out for your hand.

Good point. I admit that when I’m writing with pen and paper, it’s usually for things where brevity is desirable. More than a couple full pages at a time and it’s less fun.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

#35

Unrelated to his typewriter, I'm currently reading Cormac McCarthy's Suttree , and I'm really enjoying it. I had previously only associated McCarthy with The Road and Blood Meridian , but I'm glad I gave some of his other work a shot.

I remember a Cormac scholar suggesting "Outer Dark" as a good starting point to his works. Haven't read it myself, though. I finished "Child of God" last year -- definitely worth a read, especially if you're interested in the roots of loneliness. McCarthy's empathy towards complete retards is always compelling to me. Sexual intercourses with dead bodies were nonetheless not that easy to digest, though.

McCarthy's sense for capturing dialects is fascinatingly good, really. I remember somebody saying that to a significant part, the phenomenon of Quentin Tarantino's movies lays in his ability to very deeply understand how people actually speak. I'm not from the US, but I would like to say the same about Cormac McCarthy.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

#36
post #35

Unrelated to his typewriter, I'm currently reading Cormac McCarthy's Suttree , and I'm really enjoying it. I had previously only associated McCarthy with The Road and Blood Meridian , but I'm glad I gave some of his other work a shot.

I remember a Cormac scholar suggesting "Outer Dark" as a good starting point to his works. Haven't read it myself, though. I finished "Child of God" last year -- definitely worth a read, especially if you're interested in the roots of loneliness. McCarthy's empathy towards complete retards is always compelling to me. Sexual intercourses with dead bodies were nonetheless not that easy to digest, though. McCarthy's sen…

As a person who was held back in math class due to poor performance [0], I would prefer that you not use the word "retard".

[0] Which was later demonstrated to be due to a lack of inspiration from my math teachers, a fact that Mrs. King taught me so well in her pre-algebra class in 9th grade. From then on, I got straight As in math. To this day, nearly forty years later, I still credit Mrs. King for helping me get down the path to whatever success I have had in life.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

#37
post #30
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Writing with pen (or pencil) on paper gives you "paged" real-time random access, plus the ability to illustrate at any resolution. The satisfying scratch of the roller ball on the paper tooth is also available in some hardware configurations. I agree about the typewriter but there's a lot to be said for actual writing too.

The issue I have with pen-and-paper writing is that I don't have the stamina to do it for long. It's quite a work out for your hand.

If you haven't tried a fountain pen, do; they're the most comfortable writing implements I know, precisely because they need the least force to make a line. A good pen needs only the weight of the pen itself; you're not really pushing at all, just steering. That lets most of your hand and wrist muscles stay fairly relaxed, and keeps fatigue to a minimum.

If you do decide to try one, start with an inexpensive steel-nibbed model like a Pilot Metropolitan. Transitioning from pencils and ball pens involves some unlearning, as you adjust your hand posture and develop a feel for how little force is required. It takes a while, and depending on how hard a hand you have to start, a gold nib may not hold up.

We missed a trick when we stopped teaching kids to write with fountain pens, but the lack is easily remedied in later life with a bit of interest and diligence. Fair warning, though: you may find them so comfortable to use for long periods that you develop a writer's bump like mine!

Re: Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

#38

Unrelated to his typewriter, I'm currently reading Cormac McCarthy's Suttree , and I'm really enjoying it. I had previously only associated McCarthy with The Road and Blood Meridian , but I'm glad I gave some of his other work a shot.

I’d recommend reading his Plains trilogy, it starts with all the pretty horses. Fantastic books all the way through.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

#39
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember a Cormac scholar suggesting "Outer Dark" as a good starting point to his works. Haven't read it myself, though. I finished "Child of God" last year -- definitely worth a read, especially if you're interested in the roots of loneliness. McCarthy's empathy towards complete retards is always compelling to me. Sexual intercourses with dead bodies were nonetheless not that easy to digest, though. McCarthy's sen…

As a person who was held back in math class due to poor performance [0], I would prefer that you not use the word "retard". [0] Which was later demonstrated to be due to a lack of inspiration from my math teachers, a fact that Mrs. King taught me so well in her pre-algebra class in 9th grade. From then on, I got straight As in math. To this day, nearly forty years later, I still credit Mrs. King for helping me get do…

Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately I cannot edit the reply, but I sincerely apologize for my choice of words. I am not a native English speaker, so I was actually using it as a more rough expression for "outcast". People lost or trapped in themselves, possibly due to unlucky past; because of this, they've become antisocial (thinking of Lester Ballard from McCarthy's "Child of God"). Nothing to do with mental performance.

A really embarrassing error, entirely due to poor command of English language. Once again, I apologize. I wish you all the best, mate.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera 32

#40
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a person who was held back in math class due to poor performance [0], I would prefer that you not use the word "retard". [0] Which was later demonstrated to be due to a lack of inspiration from my math teachers, a fact that Mrs. King taught me so well in her pre-algebra class in 9th grade. From then on, I got straight As in math. To this day, nearly forty years later, I still credit Mrs. King for helping me get do…

Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately I cannot edit the reply, but I sincerely apologize for my choice of words. I am not a native English speaker, so I was actually using it as a more rough expression for "outcast". People lost or trapped in themselves, possibly due to unlucky past; because of this, they've become antisocial (thinking of Lester Ballard from McCarthy's "Child of God"). Nothing to do with mental p…

Understood. I thank you for your response!

I confess that when I was much younger, I used that same word in the same way. It was only after my coming to understand how my usage of that word had hurt other people that I came to where I am today.

So, yours is a pain that I know well, and I trust that we are both better for this exchange.

Thanks!

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