Wednesday, February 2, 2011

A Typegorical Dilemma

Am I a traitor?

I transcribe my typecasts and post the transcription before the actual typecast.

Does that make me a traitor?

I admit--I'm not the most dedicated luddite, but is there I line one can cross, where it goes from being a typecast to just a picture of some typewritten page?

Pause and Discuss.

Now, I've got my reasons, honestly. Mostly, it's because I have a hell of a time producing clean copy. I'm one of those kids who grew up with spellchecker, so if I miss a letter here or there, it isn't much of a problem--normally. But with a typecast, it makes things look like crap. Between my QDL not liking to print descenders, the Smith-Corona that burns out after a page, and the Remington that skips letters when I get too excited and start burning away, my posts look like a rough draft at best. Even once I've edited it and tried to retype, I run into the same problem. I lack the focus needed to make a clean copy.

And I won't even start on my handwriting. Now, at times, it is nice and legible, but that is if I'm taking the time. But when I get into the groove and things are flowing and sounding good, it spirals quickly downhill. And when I actually try to make it all look pretty, the inspiration dries up. It leaves me in a pickle.

That's because I seem to write better within the little posting window of Blogger. My favorite entries have been written here, just me and the white box...

Where does that leave me in the scheme of things? Am I really part of the typosphere?

5 comments:

  1. Well, I think the first step would be to get a typewriter you enjoy using and that works well.

    As for the prior transcriptions - I don't know about everyone else, but I have done it many times before and I will continue to do so for typecasts and typed letters. It takes me quite a bit of effort to get out a typewriter - I keep them stored in their cases and if I need to use one I have to put away my laptop as I have a very small coffee table for a desk - so I like to have my text prepared before I actually get to typing.

    I find even if my posts are composed beforehand (either in Blogger or by hand, which I love doing now that I am using fountain pens), it's not quite the same thing if I don't go to the effort of typing and scanning. That's what makes it a typecast! Unless I'm writing an image-heavy post with the only text being basically captions, I do go to the extra effort of pulling out a typewriter instead of posting from Blogger. It may be inefficient, but that's what the typosphere is all about :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. There's a difference, in my opinion, between a typecaster/typospherian and a typecast. The latter, is just as Adwoa describes, so a scanned typed page is a typecast.

    But, whether your blog is full of typecasts, just one, or none, you are still part of the typosphere by just having a typewriter and using it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Adwoa: Convenience is most definitely part of it. Generally, when I have the time to write, it is on campus--and anything that I write with on campus is something that I've carried with me. And even the smallest of ultraportables is something more to carry, something else to worry about. (Not to mention I've never actually seen a typewriter that small. Finding a typewriter around here is tough.)

    And I don't know what it is... maybe it is just part of having grown up writing on a computer, but when I turn to paper, I lose the magic. Things just don't seem to flow, and it is frustrating. Maybe I just need to take time to work on it, but time is the problem...

    @Deek
    Thank you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. You are a typospherian for sure. I write better posts in Blogger too. I would do it your way but I am just too lazy, so my typecasts are full of typos, strikethrus (ha!) and the like. I always wonder how everyone else in the 'sphere seems to produce such clean copy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks. :) Glad I'm not the only one that feels that way.

    And I would also love to know how everyone else manages to produce such clean copy. Even using the whiteout handheld correction tape, I can't do it as well as most of them...

    ReplyDelete