Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Typing Assignment No. 5



We had a fun time with Typing Assignment No. 4, which was to expound on that old pangram, "The Quick Brown Fox..." I was surprised to have found my wife participating, and this further inspired me also to try my hand at it.

Now, our latest assignment is to work with that worst of all opening lines to a story, "It was a dark and stormy night." This line has been panned for decades by critics and cognoscenti alike; but are we afraid? No! Instead, we see it as a challenge. After all, we're already writing on manual typewriters. Typewriters, I tell 'ya! So a little more salt in the wound shouldn't be any trouble.

Start your one-page piece with that classic line, and see where the Muse takes you. Make it fiction; or make it nonfiction, if you have a personal tale, set in a dark, stormy eve, worth telling. Perhaps there's a family story or legend you'd like to try your hand at. Make it poetry, make it prose, you get to choose.

As before in this series, scan or photograph your one page piece legibly, then post to a document or photo hosting service online. Then drop a comment below this article with a link to your image. Alternatively, put the link in a comment to the YouTube video itself.

Please include in your comment the name you'd like to be referred to and something about the typewriter (just the make and model is fine; and the year of manufacture if you know it). On the typed sheet, also include your name, so I can keep track of the entries when I assemble the review video.

Because many of you won't be reading this article and reviewing the video until at least Wednesday, I'm giving a deadline of July 30 to have your piece written, scanned, uploaded and the link added to a comment herein or on You Tube. This should give us about a week and a half, plenty of time to do a good job without rushing.

Speaking of doing good jobs, all of the previous entrants have done great work on short notice with these assignments. I hope you realize how much I appreciate that, and also that others are reading your work via this project. I also hope this series will inspire you fledgling writers to take more seriously the call to take up pen (or typewriter) and dedicate yourselves more fully to the art of writing. There are certainly some latent talents amongst us.

Good luck and have fun on this assignment.

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25 Comments:

Blogger Bill M said...

Good theme Joe. I may finally get some time and participate in this one.

3:16 AM  
Blogger Ted said...

It was a dark and stormy night...
http://munk.org/typecast/2017/07/20/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/

3:27 PM  
Blogger John M said...

Hi Joe,

Here is my assignment #5

https://typingink.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/jvc-typing-assignment-5-the-dark-and-stormy-night/

John Maillet

6:15 PM  
Blogger David Randall said...

Good choice for us Joe, me and my Cole-Steel: https://buildingdesks.blogspot.com/2017/07/it-was-dark-and-stormy-night.html

7:25 PM  
Blogger Diane said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

8:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Joe, this went past an 11 inch page, so I used 14 (legal) hope that's ok.
Yes, it was a dark and stormy night.

https://andykev.com/typing-assignment-5/

Andykev typed on SMC Silent 1951

11:19 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Here we go. Enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for the topic.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/152005082@N04/35957960901/in/datetaken-public/

Cheers

Richard

1:18 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I drew inspiration from Ernie Pyle’s Dust Bowl dispatches in the 1930s. Since his home was in Albuquerque where Joe lives, and where Ernie Pyle Day will be celebrated on August 3rd. Naturally a period machine was needed, so I used a 1929 Remington 3, S/N: V226357:

https://brokestuff.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/dust-bowl/

3:09 PM  
Blogger andrew nicholls said...

Hi Joe and fellow typists! Here is my assignment number 5 entry. Typed on my early 50's Hermes Baby Rocket. My 1954 Gossen Tippa needs a service and spruce up before I use it, maybe on the next assignment! Hope everyone is having a good time. Andy.

http://andypoetwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/typing-assignment-5-it-was-dark-and.html

1:36 PM  
Blogger Diane said...

Hello Joe,
Here is my link to assignment #5
Thanks again!
https://sites.google.com/site/dc4355/assignment-5
Best regards,
Diane

8:42 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

hi Joe, thanks again. Hope I made the cut. Darrin
https://www.evernote.com/l/AC_y1uoN8DpN0o6WC80_3Y6Jgl93q-_pwj0

7:54 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

This one was a fun to write. John Campbell 1920's Underwood 3 bank portable.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1GvXMwunHVrV3pDTUV0OWZhdjA

8:46 PM  
Blogger TokyoJAM said...

Hi Joe,

I spent a bit more time letting the theme sink in before tackling it. Here's my Assignment #5. Much appreciated!
Typed on my 1955 Underwood De Luxe Quiet Tab, callsign: "Julep"
https://sites.google.com/site/jamunroe/home/typing-assignment-5

5:33 AM  
Blogger DonN said...

Hi Joe,
What a great series you have!
https://nathanguitars.com/2017/07/26/typing-assignment-5/

10:26 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Sorry for making it so cramped, I wasn't sure I could fit it on a single page!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/156639586@N05/36187536935/in/dateposted-public/

5:23 PM  
Blogger SBolli said...

Sorry for missing the last two assignments. Summer busy. Anyhow, here it is, and be advised I used an old cockle-finish Racerase paper, which won't be a norm, I just wanted to try it once and it fit the assignment.

https://nostalgictype.blogspot.ca/2017/07/typewriter-assignment-5.html
and original link to Flickr just in case:
https://flic.kr/p/XbWUAP

With a 1959 Smith-Corona Galaxie II

11:23 AM  
Blogger SBolli said...

Joe, I managed to get my brother Pat to do an assignment, I am submitting it here as a separate comment.

https://nostalgictype.blogspot.ca/2017/07/my-brothers-typing-assignment-5.html

He would be posted as Pat Bohanga. Thanks!

11:24 AM  
Blogger DoHaeng Michael Kitchen said...

Hi Joe,

Here's my submission for #5.

https://dohaeng.com/2017/07/28/july-28-2017-typing-assignment-5/

Thanks!
Mike

12:28 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hi Joe,

I'm resending mine. Something weird is going on. On assignment 4 I submitted it fairly early on and definitely got a "will be posted when read" type comment. This time for assignment 5 I got the same (it was submitted about a week ago) and even clicked the "notify me' button. I assumed mine hadn't got on yet because you had received lots before me, but now I see things are slowing down and mine still isn't up. Sorry if you have received it and just haven't had time to post yet. I didn't get a notification though so I am assuming somehow mine just aren't getting through.

Here it is:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/152005082@N04/35957960901/in/datetaken-public/

Cheers

Richard

1:39 PM  
Blogger Vermont Vintage Typewriter said...

Hi Joe and fellow type-writer friends. Here is my installment for assignment #5. It was inspired by an Underwood 5 that I recently found but typed on a 1920's Remington Portable.

http://vermontvintagetypewriter.blogspot.com/2017/07/chloe-and-storm.html

6:42 PM  
Blogger Michael R pdx said...

Whew! This one was inspiring! My first draft went to three pages.

This on on my brand spanking new (less than 24 hours) to me 1967 Hermes 3000.

Michel Rasmussen

https://saunter.us/wanderings/on-a-dark-and-stormy/
https://i0.wp.com/saunter.us/wanderings/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/dark_and_stormy-790x1024.jpg?ssl=1

1:56 PM  
Anonymous Kevin Kittle said...

Here is my submission to Typing Assignment No. 5:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/156213073@N02/36136871651/in/dateposted-public/

It was written on a 1936 Underwood 6 typewriter. The paper size is "Foolscap Folio" (8 1/2 x 13 1/2), which was the paper size of the original 1917 report forms.

2:01 PM  
Anonymous Joe Bailey said...

Joe, here is the link to my assignment #5.

http://i.imgur.com/dA4iiB5.jpg

7:12 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hi Joe, Assignment #5.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DtlQc5U23Tzwq98p1

1952 Smith-Corona Sterling

12:06 AM  
Anonymous Joe Bailey said...

Who is "John" Bailey? ;) I suppose I should include my name on the original document for future assignments.

7:48 PM  

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