273. Write on a Typewriter

<p>It seems even the most devout techno-utopiasts carry around a Moleskine notebook. They appreciate the way writing longhand on paper alters their thought processes. Yet the same people think writing on a typewriter is absurd, performative, pretentious, or a deliberate troll.</p> <p>Over the past year, I’ve grown to love writing on a typewriter. I didn’t write my first three books on a typewriter, but I am my next one. I use my typewriter to write articles (yes, this one), <a href="https://kadavy.net/mondays/">email newsletters</a>, and even tweets.</p> <p>I think you should try it. Write on a typewriter.</p> <h3>The typewriter is the best writing tool ever</h3> <p>If you’ve followed my work a while, you’ve seen me experiment with progressively more-primitive writing tools. I first used an <a href= "https://kadavy.net/blog/posts/alphasmart-portable-word-processor/"> AlphaSmart</a> – a portable word-processor – seven years ago. Readers of my latest book, <a href= "https://kadavy.net/mind-management-not-time-management/"><em>Mind Management, Not Time Management</em></a> will recognize the typewriter as another <a href= "https://kadavy.net/blog/posts/grippy-slippy-tools/">“grippy”</a> tool. It helps you get a grip on your thoughts, without letting them slip.</p> <p>But, I think the typewriter is the end of this road. I won’t be making cuneiform impressions on clay any time soon, and I won’t even bother experimenting with a chisel and stone tablet.</p> <p>As the musician John Mayer – who writes his lyrics on a typewriter – has <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej338wC02OU">said</a>, “I’m not picking the typewriter because I think it’s hip. It’s the best version of the idea that’s ever come around.” Or, as I say, <strong>there is no more pure writing device than a typewriter</strong>.</p> <p>Before you dismiss that statement, think about it carefully. Notice I said “writing,” not “editing,” nor “publishing.”</p> <h3>Computers are great for publishing</h3> <p>A computer is the greatest publishing device ever.