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Yes; this is a crazy thread to start. But this stems from the advice in the Learning Writing with Uncle Jim thread, where it is suggested that retyping a chapter from your favorite author may prove instructive.
I thought that was pretty crazy, actually.
I don't think so anymore.
As part of an exercise to pick up the cadence of the written word again, it's been invaluable. The re-typing forces you to process what you read, and routes signals through the typing part of your brain.
Also a little session of retyping eases me into my daily quota of words written; it becomes easier to face 250 words, or even 2000, after you've impressed upon your mind the rhythm and pacing of an author you admire.
Right now, because of what I'll be working on, and because my first story in a long while needs some serious cadence re-training, I'm re-typing The Adventure of the Speckled Band, one of the better Sherlock Holmes stories. No, it's not Pride and Prejudice or Brothers Karamazov, but it is a classic in the field of detective mystery, which puts it on relatively the same footing.
I've been finding out---duh---that Doyle knew quite a bit about writing short stories in the larger sense of short stories, not just detective mystery short stories.
So, what are you re-typing, or planning on re-typing? What have you re-typed in the past?
(By the way, I touch type, which makes everything way easier, including my actual 250 words-per-day quota. I learned out of a book, this being way back when, but there's any number of software programs these days to help one learn.)
I thought that was pretty crazy, actually.
I don't think so anymore.
As part of an exercise to pick up the cadence of the written word again, it's been invaluable. The re-typing forces you to process what you read, and routes signals through the typing part of your brain.
Also a little session of retyping eases me into my daily quota of words written; it becomes easier to face 250 words, or even 2000, after you've impressed upon your mind the rhythm and pacing of an author you admire.
Right now, because of what I'll be working on, and because my first story in a long while needs some serious cadence re-training, I'm re-typing The Adventure of the Speckled Band, one of the better Sherlock Holmes stories. No, it's not Pride and Prejudice or Brothers Karamazov, but it is a classic in the field of detective mystery, which puts it on relatively the same footing.
I've been finding out---duh---that Doyle knew quite a bit about writing short stories in the larger sense of short stories, not just detective mystery short stories.
So, what are you re-typing, or planning on re-typing? What have you re-typed in the past?
(By the way, I touch type, which makes everything way easier, including my actual 250 words-per-day quota. I learned out of a book, this being way back when, but there's any number of software programs these days to help one learn.)
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