The first story I have ever written was on a typewriter. I was about 10 years old when I wrote it. I can't remember the general plot of the story, but there are some detail I can still recall. It was a science fiction story. The hero had wavy blond hair. He was on a spaceship. The story began with someone calling his name. The were feline-like aliens. (I was probably watching Thunder Cats at the time.)
I can still remember the clacking of the keys; how one would insert the paper and turn the knob on the side to roll the page into place; how one would pull the lever on the right to move the whole drum to the left -- today's equivalent of the "Enter" / "Return" key; one ones fingers would get dirty when one when you have to replace the ink lint (is that what it is called, an ink lint?).
I'm suddenly nostalgic for typewriters.
My mother had a big typewriter when I was a kid. I typed stories on it. The typewriter was very loud. It always made a whirring sound whenever it was turned on. It is the end of an era.
ReplyDeleteI do remember those word processors that came out in the 1990s. My family went through a few of those since my technophobic mother didn't want to get a computer yet. Those word processors were cheesy. I was relieved when she finally got one.
Ah, the good ol' days.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm very thankful for computers, with word processor programs, spell checkers, and all the rest. I can't imagine writing and editing long texts by hand.
Nonetheless, I still feel nostalgic for old typewriters.