Word-Whittling
Post-Script: Word-whittled on the front porch, on a cold but sunny day, with the little Brother Webster XL-747. An assemblage of individual keystroke experiences piling up at my feet, along with cigar ash.
This piece was transcribed (i.e. retyped) via SCM Galaxie Twelve. Transcribing isn't writing. It's mechanical. Errors will be made. Errors were made, evidenced by subtle but obvious white correction tape markings on the yellow-green paper. I obviously need more meditative word-whittling practice.
Top photo inspired by artist and writer Austin Kleon.
Labels: Brother, Webster XL-747, word-whittling
posted by Joe V at 6:07 PM
8 Comments:
Wow, I love that top photo.
I confess that I tend to be sloppy when typing, because I just enjoy the speed.
To call it something like 'tick-tock' typing would seem childish, perhaps, but me thinking along the lines of a clock ticking once every second would seem to fit the notion of one letter being typed at a time rather than as part of a mad jumble of type-bars swatting against the platen at speed.
Geez, was that one sentence?
I like the idea of typing slower, if only for the fact that, with my recent typecasts, I've been working without a net (Liquid Paper), as trapeze artists would say.
I may try slowing down my speed somewhat, but I'm not sure I have the time on weekends to slow my typing right down.
@Richard: Thanks, Richard. It was an idea inspired by artist Austin Kleon. Like most things in life, we "appropriate" from others. He's the guy who wrote the book Steal Like an Artist. So I stole from him!
@Teeritz: Good to hear from you! The more I sit down at a portable typewriter, with nothing specific to write, just a blank page and my thoughts, the more I enjoy the experience of just putting letters down, one after the other. Yet I wouldn't even use the clock analogy, except for the escapement analogy. A clock, like the taskmaster in my piece, demands a character be printed on a regular basis; whereas this more meditative method places no demands. Sometimes I've sat at the machine and not typed at all. That's okay too.
Ahh, deliberate typing to achieve the Zone. I don't practice this enough, usually in too much of a hurry to pour out the dit-dit-dat pinball thinking running in my head. Still, I always admire your deliberative process. :D
I started Zen typing every early in life. All I knew was 2 finger and make sure each letter was neatly printed and I spelled correctly. Then came typing class. I still will (especially with odd keyboards) use slow deliberate 2 fingers at times. Generally I touch type and if I get in a hurry or I'm tired I become very sloppy as my blog posts show.
I too confess that I go as fast as I can to keep up with my thoughts, which naturally vary in speed, and I don't give damn about mistakes. Having read (long ago) Zen in the Art of Archery, I would have said that to type effortlessly without mind would be zen typing, like a skilled touch typist, or archer.
I love this!
The word mindful comes to me. I prefer this method too because it makes me slow down and actually put some thought behind my words. That and the fact that I really have no idea ho to touch type, although I can employ a considerable number of finger when I'm rattling off thoughts.
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