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).

I’m always amazed when I think about the accomplishments of previous generations – you know, the ones that didn’t have a computer. How did they do it? And what can we learn from them?

When I read technology blogs, productivity gadgets pique my interest. Blackberries perpetually connect us as constant communication is now a requirement for many jobs. I used to laugh at doctors with their pagers. Now, I’d rather be the one with the pager instead of an email-enabled leash.

Phones can edit and view documents, ensuring that not one minute of time is wasted. If only we could use electronic devices during take-off and landing, we could fully maximize our time.

Mission Control at Nasa

Or could we?

I love computers. Heck, Apollo 11 didn’t have as much computing power as my living room. But you know what? Those guys made it to the moon. Some days, I don’t even make it outside. We can learn a lot from the generations before us, without fancy gadgets and computers, making possible the impossible.

Many prolific writers still pound out first drafts on a typewriter.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. moved an entire nation without access to the blogosphere or YouTube.

Einstein didn’t have a MacBook Pro.

Sure, some technology is necessary, as a matter of formality. Some schools require laptops for all incoming students. But we should never be trapped in the mindset that limited technology means limited potential. Da Vinci would agree.

The human mind is powerful. And it’s powerful without the aid of a computer. Use technology to enhance what you can already accomplish. But don’t use technology as an excuse for not getting something done.

Look to the past and find inspiration – Gandhi, King Jr., Michelangelo, Gauss, and Jefferson. See how much they accomplished with so little. In the internet age, we have so many tools that they didn’t have. There is no reason that we cannot achieve equally impressive feats.