Manual Typewriter??

America's Proust · Mar 25, 2016

So, I'm looking for a manual typewriter on which to write a humor novel. (Please consider that shipping to Hawaii isn't cheap.) I need something that can handle my typing speed, something sturdy, and aesthetically appealing. (55 words per minute, after errors are deducted.) Any suggestions? (I'm hoping to write 65 - 70k words on it.)

AW Admin · Mar 25, 2016

Hey there, I've moved this thread to Office Party where it will get much more traffic than in FAQs.

My suggestion would be to create a clever and charming post on Craig's list in Hawaii and ask if someone has one for sale.

Old typewriters are collected now. There's a lot of interest in refurbishing them.

I bet there's one nearer you that might work.

That said:

You might look at The Vermont Country Store.

They have one that was built for them:

http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/...untry_Store_Portable_Manual_Typewriter_/67320

It's not cheap.

America's Proust · Mar 25, 2016

Money's not exactly an obstacle, but the amount I wanna spend has to be under $180 USD. Why? My missus says so, that's why!

ZachJPayne · Mar 25, 2016

I've always thought of getting an old manual, not so much for novel writing, but perhaps for poetry and other belles lettres. I can also see myself doing a shtick at county fairs, etc., where I set up a booth and write a verse while you wait.

Cyia · Mar 25, 2016

How manual are you talking? If you go for an electric typewriter with a Daisy-wheel, it can handle the spell check and corrections without you needing to pull out the white out. It also doesn't tangle ribbons like older models.

The older you go, the heavier and fussier the machine is going to be. I have to use a Lois-Lane approved, stilt-keyed chunk of semi-movable iron for doing school work when I was in high school. (This was my great-grandmother's machine, and it was after the rise of the personal computational contraptions. The typewriter was free, and a computer was not.) Using that monster, while it got the job done, was not fun. Typing quickly is difficult, thanks to the pitch of the keys, and the fact that the strike plates would lock.

Getting an electric Brother was awesome compared to the old-girl. (I'm wanting to say it's a Smith-Corona, but I'm not by any means sure.)

If I were you, I'd check local pawn shops or repair shops. Even ask at Staples, Office Depot, etc to see if they've got any in the back room that they want to unload. Our local store carried then - in stock - until about four or five months ago.

jjdebenedictis · Mar 25, 2016

Who is the book for? Because if you have any designs on getting it published, you'll need to pay to have the book typed into computer eventually (or you can do it yourself).

America's Proust · Mar 26, 2016

I'm looking for something along the lines of what you see on "Mad Men." I was particular to Don's Olympia SM-3 on which he typed that infamous letter saying no more cigarette ads. But, I have typed on a friend's Royal KMM before...

MaryMumsy · Mar 26, 2016

I have used a Hermes, it came with hubby when we got married. I had a Smith-Corona that I used for all my college papers. I liked the S-C better, but that might be because I was used to it. The touch on the Hermes was odd. Can't tell you models, they have long since gone to the thrift shop.

MM

CindyGirl · Mar 26, 2016

I learned to type on a manual in High School. There were four electric typewriters in the classroom but we weren't allowed to touch them. Then I broke two fingers playing volley ball. I was the first to be allowed to use the electric.

Saoirse · Mar 26, 2016

I used to use an Olivetti for typing stories when I was 12 or 13. I loved that typewriter. Then I got an electric Brother. And then several word processors. I also have a really old Smith Corona that was my grandmother's. It has to be at least 90 years old now. I haven't tried to use it because of wrist tendonitis (typewriters are not ergo) but I did find ribbon for it, strangely enough. So I would suggest the Olivetti or an electric.

Introversion · Mar 26, 2016

Any particular reason you want to do this on a manual typewriter? (I assume you've used one before?)

I must say, apart perhaps from the marvelous tangy machine-oil smell of a typewriter, that's a device I don't miss at all, as compared to a modern word-processor like Scrivener. White-out? Pressing hard enough to get a good strike? Replacing ribbons? Slamming the carriage back to the start of a new line? Realizing you've just made a large mistake that requires re-typing the whole page (or multiples)?? Honestly, why would you want to go back to it?

America's Proust · Mar 26, 2016

Because, after I wrote three drafts of the FIRST CHAPTER, it was still crap. I edited it three times and still came up with three "shark drafts," as my English teacher used to call them. He called them that because he would write on a crappy draft, "This is unfit to be shark food. Rewrite completely."

Introversion · Mar 27, 2016

Out of curiosity, how will the act of using a typewriter improve this process, do you think?

For myself, I think it might result in analysis-paralysis -- editing inline between every keystroke, to try to avoid making mistakes I'd need to retype later.

Bubastes · Mar 27, 2016

I have several manual typewriters for fun. In my experience, the Olympia SM9 (1960s) and the Smith Corona Silent Super (1950s) are great workhorses. Re: Olympias, I prefer the SM9 to the SM3 because the SM9 has a basket shift (the typewriter arms move downward when you hit the Shift key) instead of a carriage shift (the carriage moves up when you hit the Shift key)--carriage shift typewriters require really strong pinkie fingers because you have to fight gravity when shifting.

Brightdreamer · Mar 27, 2016

America's Proust said:
Because, after I wrote three drafts of the FIRST CHAPTER, it was still crap. I edited it three times and still came up with three "shark drafts," as my English teacher used to call them. He called them that because he would write on a crappy draft, "This is unfit to be shark food. Rewrite completely."

Only three? And only one chapter? And who is telling you it's irredeemably cruddy? Early drafts are allowed to suck, the same way early sketches for a painting are allowed to be loose an scribbly and sketchy. There's almost always a trolling voice in your head telling you everything you write sucks. With experience, persistence, and luck, the voice can be re-educated into a (somewhat) helpful editorial assistant - but not on the first draft, and not when you're just beginning to write.

You might consider a different approach to your writing. Outline if you normally improvise/"pants" it; improvise if you normally outline. Or just skip Chapter One and come back to it; quite often, first attempts at Chapter One end up being chucked after reaching the end anyway, because even with an outline, you don't always know where best to start a story until you've finished it.

But, hey, if changing to a typewriter helps, go for it... I'm fairly sure many old-school typewriter authors also went through multiple drafts, though. (Just do be aware of the need for a digital copy; most agents and publishers prefer them these days.)

AW Admin · Mar 27, 2016

America's Proust said:
Because, after I wrote three drafts of the FIRST CHAPTER, it was still crap. I edited it three times and still came up with three "shark drafts," as my English teacher used to call them. He called them that because he would write on a crappy draft, "This is unfit to be shark food. Rewrite completely."

Paper and pen?

Push on past the first chapter.

It's really really common for writers at all levels for any genre including nonfiction to start out writing "crap."

It's the textual equivalent of clearing your throat.

Another thing to consider if your objections are to the narrative/plot rather than the language/syntax; using a prewriting stage to get your thoughts together?

Outlining
Brainstorming
Using something you can physically manipulate like stickie notes (of a suitable size) or index cards to jot notes.

America's Proust · Mar 27, 2016

Introversion said:
Out of curiosity, how will the act of using a typewriter improve this process, do you think?

For myself, I think it might result in analysis-paralysis -- editing inline between every keystroke, to try to avoid making mistakes I'd need to retype later.

As I write the thing, I'll end up having to retype anyway, and the typographical errors I can get rid of as I retype the next draft. I think using a typewriter would at least force me to invest more thought and more care in the actual process as opposed to just speeding through it as so many are wont to do on a computer.

America's Proust · Mar 27, 2016

Brightdreamer said:
Only three? And only one chapter? And who is telling you it's irredeemably cruddy? Early drafts are allowed to suck, the same way early sketches for a painting are allowed to be loose an scribbly and sketchy. There's almost always a trolling voice in your head telling you everything you write sucks. With experience, persistence, and luck, the voice can be re-educated into a (somewhat) helpful editorial assistant - but not on the first draft, and not when you're just beginning to write.

You might consider a different approach to your writing. Outline if you normally improvise/"pants" it; improvise if you normally outline. Or just skip Chapter One and come back to it; quite often, first attempts at Chapter One end up being chucked after reaching the end anyway, because even with an outline, you don't always know where best to start a story until you've finished it.

But, hey, if changing to a typewriter helps, go for it... I'm fairly sure many old-school typewriter authors also went through multiple drafts, though. (Just do be aware of the need for a digital copy; most agents and publishers prefer them these days.)

My wife is a very honest editorial assistant. She catches the most obvious attempts to sneak things she told me to get rid of past her, and she tells me to feed the things to the sharks. She keeps telling me to rewrite this, and yet, I have fundamentally rewritten nothing. (Yes, she knows about my English teacher.) Although, improvising sounds good. Mrs. won't expect that... you're also right about the old school writers going through multiple drafts. Hemingway would edit out, by his own admission, two-thirds of what he wrote.

EMaree · Mar 27, 2016

This feels to me a lot like very expensive procrastinating. Using a typewriter won't change the quality of your words, and as AW Admin said, writers of all stripes can benefit from pushing past the rocky first chapters and finding their voice as they continue from the story.

Constantly rewriting the first chapter (or first five pages, first page, first line...) is a very common form of procrastination, especially among writers with perfectionist tendencies.

You're not going to be Proust on your first try. Hemingway famously said "The first draft of anything is shit", so give yourself permission to write a crappy first draft and leave the first chapter alone until you've written THE END.

America's Proust · Mar 27, 2016

The problem still stands: I haven't done anything except write the crappy drafts, and the only consistent factor in the previous crappy drafts is the computer. I know full well I'm not going to be Proust or Hemingway or Fitzgerald on my first try. So, as far as the best manual typewriter??

America's Proust · Mar 29, 2016

Well, it's official: My wife has gone and bought me a typewriter after seeing this thread. She has bought me a Royal Quiet Deluxe, exactly like the one pictured here. I can't wait to test it out! Well, I seem to have had my question answered...who knows? Maybe my writing will improve? Thanks for the responses! (in thick Austrian accent

I'll be back!

Bubastes · Mar 29, 2016

What a gorgeous machine! Happy typing!

America's Proust · Mar 30, 2016

Well, my wife has reviewed the typewritten first chapter of the yet untitled book, and an additional three chapters I wrote thanks to this laptop not tempting me with distractions. Her judgment...is....drumroll, please!.... they're great! Not just good. GREAT.

America's Proust · Apr 1, 2016

Well, I am also happy to say that (since this was a humorous novel in question) my wife saw the first four typewritten chapters from the RQD, and she said not only was it great, but: "It's absolutely hysterical...!" (That was all she managed to say.) The best part was when she got to the middle of Chapter Three, and rolled out of our bed laughing!

King Neptune · Apr 1, 2016

I voted for Royal in the poll, because they are so typical of manual office typewriters, but, if you want something that would be high end for the 1960's, then the IBM Executive probably was the best electric typewriter before IBM came out with the Selectric. If you want the best stand-alone electric typewriter, the the Selectric 2 or 3 would be the thing. There are people who still won't touch another electric typewriter.

Manual Typewriter??

Manual Typewriter For Novel?

Hermes

Royal

Smith-Corona

IBM (Any)

Olivetti

Adler

Olympia

Remington

Beware: #amQuerying

Rewriting My Destiny

is watching you via her avatar

the original blond bombshell

Mi verkas

Pie aren't squared, pie are round!

Pie aren't squared, pie are round!

bananaed

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist

a demon for tea

bananaed