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.
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a novel by Herman Melville, published in 1851. It narrates the voyage of the Pequod, a whaling ship commanded by Captain Ahab, who is driven by an obsessive quest to kill Moby Dick, the white whale that on a previous voyage destroyed his ship and severed his leg at the knee. It is a profound and complex work that explores themes of vengeance, the quest for knowledge, and the nature of good and evil.
“Stop your grinning,” shouted I, “and why didn’t you tell me that that infernal harpooneer was a cannibal?” “I thought ye know’d it;—didn’t I tell ye, he was peddlin’ heads around town?—but turn flukes again and go to sleep. Queequeg, look here—you sabbee me, I sabbee you—this man sleepe you—you sabbee?”— “Me sabbee plenty”—grunted Queequeg, puffing away at his pipe and sitting up in bed. “You gettee in,” he added, motioning to me with his tomahawk, and throwing the clothes to one side. He really did this in not only a civil but a really kind and charitable way. I stood looking at him a moment. For all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal. What’s all this fuss I have been making about, thought I to myself—the man’s a human being just as I am: he has just as much reason to fear me, as I have to be afraid of him. Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian. “Landlord,” said I, “tell him to stash his tomahawk there, or pipe, or whatever you call it; tell him to stop smoking, in short, and I will turn in with him. But I don’t fancy having a man smoking in bed with me. It’s dangerous. Besides, I aint insured.”
Other classics
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Cranford
Victoria Benedictsson
Modern
Hjalmar Söderberg
Förvillelser
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
August Strindberg
Inferno
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Marcel Proust
Swann's Way
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time
Jane Austen
Emma
August Strindberg
Röda Rummet
Louisa May Alcott
Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1
Franz Kafka
The MetamorphosisWhy 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