No, this isn’t one of those blog posts in which the author preaches the purity of using a mechanical typewriter, and it isn’t one of those blog posts in which the author waxes lyrical about how authentic it feels to sit at the helm of an Underwood. If that’s what you’re after, look away now.

I’m more interested in the practicality of the matter. In a world of lightning-fast turnaround, deadlines, e-mailing and e-sharing, there’s every reason for writers to be living securely in the digital age, but what about those times when you need to get away from the bits and bytes?

I posted a few days ago about my struggles with focusing on and finishing work. I’m a guy with a whole lot of ideas, but an attention span that can’t hold on to them for long. I procrastinate, I get distracted, I get bored. And can you guess what my number one distraction is?

Yep, the internet. Why write my story when I could be checking my news feed? Or browsing Reddit? Or watching YouTube videos? It’s been the death of many a good writing session.

I know, I know. You’re probably thinking ‘so turn it off’, but it’s not as simple as that. It’s addictive. I can’t help myself.

And so came along my first typewriter.

It cost me around £30 on eBay, which is a hell of a lot more than it’s worth. It’s a plastic piece of shit, but it was the best investment I’d made in a long time.

It seems obvious when you think about it. No internet. No notification pop-ups. No nothing. Just a keyboard and a blank page.

And my favourite part: no backspace*.

*Okay, so it does actually have a backspace, but not one that deletes anything. Work with me here.

Just like I can’t keep myself away from the internet when I use a computer, I can’t help but read back over whatever I’ve just written either. I edit as I draft, and it’s a killer. You’ll likely have done the same thing too, so you’ll know just how bloody difficult it is to get anywhere in your first draft when you’re writing the same freaking passage five, six, seven times over. Just move on.

With a typewriter, I do move on. Sure, I could grab the Tipp-Ex and have at it, but I don’t. I keep going. My productivity has increased tenfold since I first sat down at it. My online presence has likely suffered, but it shows in the work.

Now I’m not going to say it doesn’t feel great to write with a typewriter, because it does. There is something vaguely satisfying about the clack clack clack ting of the mechanism, and being able to amass a physical collection of work is rewarding, but that’s not why you should try one.

Try one because you’re tired of wasting valuable time. Try one because you’re desperate to get through that seemingly impossible first draft. Try one because you’re as addicted to the backspace as you are to Stephen King books.

I’m telling you, it works.

Kind regards,

Alex

P.S. Plus, Tom Hanks uses typewriters, and Tom Hanks is cool as hell. So, you know… there’s that.