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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.
Walden
by Henry David Thoreau
Walden; or, Life in the Woods is a book by transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and—to some degree—a manual for self-reliance. It reflects Thoreau’s attempt to live a simpler life surrounded by nature, and it critiques the complexities of contemporary society and the impact of the Industrial Revolution.
business with the fewest obstacles; to be hindered from accomplishing which for want of a little common sense, a little enterprise and business talent, appeared not so sad as foolish. I have always endeavored to acquire strict business habits; they are indispensable to every man. If your trade is with the Celestial Empire, then some small counting house on the coast, in some Salem harbor, will be fixture enough. You will export such articles as the country affords, purely native products, much ice and pine timber and a little granite, always in native bottoms. These will be good ventures. To oversee all the details yourself in person; to be at once pilot and captain, and owner and underwriter; to buy and sell and keep the accounts; to read every letter received, and write or read every letter sent; to superintend the discharge of imports night and day; to be upon many parts of the coast almost at the same time;—often the richest freight will be discharged upon a Jersey shore;—to be your own telegraph, unweariedly sweeping the horizon, speaking all passing vessels bound coastwise; to keep up a steady despatch of commodities,
Other classics
Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time
Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Cranford
Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
Jane Austen
Emma
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
Louisa May Alcott
Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
Marcel Proust
Swann's Way
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
August Strindberg
Röda Rummet
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
August Strindberg
Inferno
Victoria Benedictsson
Modern
Hjalmar Söderberg
Förvillelser
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
Emily Brontë
Wuthering HeightsWhy 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