Buying a “New” Manual Typewriter

So I bought my first manual typewriter. On my desk, alongside my desktop computer, sits a vintage Smith-Corona Sterling manual typewriter. How did I find it? Glad you asked.

Smith Corona Sterling Typewriter

Last year, I participated in NaNoWriMo (short for National Novel Writing Month) and spent the month of November writing a 50,000 word novel. The work was hard and my novel embarrassing, but I managed to finish. Anyway, I’m planning to do it again this year. Along the way, I stumbled across a group of people on the Net that write their whole NaNoWriMo novel on a typewriter – they call themselves the “Typewriter Brigade.”

After some link jumping, I found a large community on Yahoo Groups that obsesses (in a good way) over portable manual typewriters. The thought of using a machine older than my parents fascinated me. I narrowed it down to a few typewriter models, and then I headed to Craigslist. 5 days later, I purchased my first manual typewriter. It’s in great shape, and I hope it lasts many more years.

Won’t NaNoWriMo be quicker on a computer? Sure, but it won’t be as much fun. I’m a tactile writer; I edit on hard copies; Books are easier to read than computer screens, and in a narcissistic way, I like seeing my own handwriting on a page. I know the world is moving toward everything digital, but digital doesn’t feel as real to me. I know that this typewriter will outlast any electronics I buy now. And I like that.

If you’re interested in checking out manual typewriters, visit some of these sites that I’ve found with some real experts on the topic:

The Classic Typewriter Page;
theportabletypewriterforum at Yahoo Groups;
typeswap at Yahoo Groups;
Creative Nonfiction Writing Forums (there are some typewriter enthusiasts here too).