Write as |
Practice your writing by typing out classic literature. This method not only enhances your understanding of rhythm, structure, and nuances but also connects you deeply with the timeless flow of literary history.This is a BETA version.
Cranford
by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Cranford is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in 1851. It is a humorous and poignant portrayal of the lives of the residents of the small town of Cranford, focusing on the experiences of the town, particularly the lives of the town's older residents. The novel is a social satire that explores themes of society, social dynamics, and the human condition.
isolate yourself from all those ties and their sweet associations, so as to be your own woman, uninfluenced or swayed by the consciousness of how your work may affect other minds, what blame or what sympathy it may call forth; does no luminous cloud ever come between you and the severe truth in your own secret or clear-seeing soul?’ This question is best answered by Mrs. Gaskell’s own pages. Whether or not she found it easy I cannot say, but that she did not ‘isolate herself,’ but did on the contrary entirely associate her own woman with the work of her life, her readers can best realise. Her great natural gift and genius instinctively led her to the secret of things, to the very soul of her race. She must have felt its life and spirit too keenly indeed for her own happiness at times, but how much has she not added to the sunshine of the world! Not long ago I found myself in Mrs. Gaskell’s old home in Manchester, and the thought of the beautiful books created in those very rooms seemed to give life to the stones and to light up the grim Manchester streets outside. Cranford was written in the house in Plymouth Grove, as
Other classics
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time
Marcel Proust
Swann's Way
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
Hjalmar Söderberg
Förvillelser
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
August Strindberg
Röda Rummet
Victoria Benedictsson
Modern
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
Jane Austen
Emma
William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
August Strindberg
Inferno
Louisa May Alcott
Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein
Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and PunishmentWhy Type a Masterpiece?
Typing out classical literature is not just an exercise in patience; it's a deeply immersive way to understand the rhythm, structure, and nuances of great writing. By manually reproducing the works of renowned authors, you engage with the text on a level that reading alone cannot offer. This method allows you to feel the flow of sentences, the choice of words, and the intricate construction of paragraphs that make these works timeless.
Style is a very simple matter; it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can't use the wrong words.
– Virginia Woolf
literati is a unique platform where writers can select from a vast collection of public domain classics to type out. This practice is akin to a musician playing pieces by the masters to internalize the elements of composition and performance. Just as the musician learns the subtleties of each note and chord, the writer learns the power of each word and sentence.
Prose is like hair; it shines with combing.
– Gustave Flaubert
Engaging directly with masterpieces allows writers to absorb the rhythm of the text, the ebb and flow of its pacing, and the beauty of its imagery. It cultivates an appreciation for the craft of writing and provides invaluable lessons in how to construct compelling narratives, develop characters, and evoke emotions in readers. Happy typing!
The only truth is music.
– Jack Kerouac