Well, it is that time of year, Halloween. Normally, a fun time, but it seems that this year has been crazy leading up to it and will not be as exciting as it usually is. So, although I typed this assignment this evening, I am a bit late in posting it. Oh well. Maybe Joe will forgive me.
Well, now I’m on the typosphere! I need to come up with more than just these typing assignments. So, that is something that I will be working on. But in the meantime, I still need to post the next typing assignment. This one is called the Un-assignment Assignment. In other words, anything goes. The category is open. Now if I’d just plan my postings better, I wouldn’t always be doing this on the last day.
I have been somewhat lax on posting anything. Seems to be the story of my life. Not enough time. Well, I finally paused this weekend to get some stuff done. It’s about time!!! So, here’s typing assignment #9. A few words about the Smith Premier No. 4 typewriter that I used for this post; it is a blind writer. What this means is that you can’t see what you are typing as you are typing it until you rotate the platen up and towards you. This is an interesting experience. The machine also was manufactured before the invention of the shift key. This typewriter has a double keyboard (see above). Another unique part of the typing experience.
The assignment was to write a hypothetical story in the life of a real life stranger. I don’t know that my response is quite that, but it gave me an excuse to use the Smith Premier No. 4 to see if all the bugs were worked out of it. Clearly, the lowercase w needs some adjustment and the spacing may also, but I was able to sit down and do a draft and then produce this version.
This post is in response to Joe Van Cleave’s typing assignment #8. The assignment was to write something using the style of your favorite author. The author I chose is Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. At the start of her chapters, she usually puts a letter and this was something I could do in the one page limit.
I did this last week and forgot to post it. Stupid crazy weekend. Anyway, here’s typing assignment #7. This should almost be a site dedicated to that…Not. I do have some other material, but need to take the time to scan and post it. Like everything in my life at the moment, I need to get a routine going. Which is hard when there is nothing routine. Except playing War Dragons.
Here’s another installment of the Typing Assignment! Today’s assignment is to come up with a one page description/discussion about a notable person in my life. I thought that draft #1 got to be too rambling, and it almost ran off the paper. So, I switched to a different machine with elite type for attempt number 2.
I have some other things that I want to post on this blog, but I also want to type them on a typewriter. Which one, I’m not sure yet.
This week, the Typing Assignment was to go for two weeks. This is just as well, as I have been otherwise occupied. My Camp NaNoWriMo activities for July have been somewhat muted this month.
The assignment was related to the following statement: It was a dark and stormy night. Although my piece was not strictly about a dark and stormy night, it was cathartic for me.
I am planning to get caught up with some additional blog posts soon.
Here’s a post NOT related to the Typing Assignments. I know, it’s about time, eh?
When I first started to get into the typing hobby, I decided that typing letters for type-pals was a good way to use my typewriters. I also experienced an interesting phenomenon. When I would bring home a typewriter, one of my cats, Elliott, would immediately jump up on whatever surface the new machine was put on and promptly begin to rub his cheeks on the typewriter, putting his scent on it. He also likes to climb into the top part of the cases of the portable typewriters.
Then I started to use the strange machines. This didn’t deter Elliott, who stuck first his nose and then a paw to try and check out the strange moving parts. This resulted in a few gentle smacks from the typeslugs. The first time, he stopped and looked at me as though saying, “What was that for?” All I could do is laugh. This was the case for the first couple of machines. He has since stopped pawing and sniffing at the moving typeslugs.
In one of the letters I sent to a type pal, I mentioned how Elliott did these things. The person I wrote sent me a letter with a small drawing of a cat and a typewriter at the top of one of the pages with a comment that read, Typo-Kitty. I thought that was hilarious, based on what I had already seen Elliott do.
Elliott cat is a gray tabby with black stripes. I named him after former Blues goalie, Brian Elliott. He is the youngest cat in my house. In the picture below, he is standing beside the oldest typewriter I own, a Smith Premier No. 4 from 1901.
