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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.
world through a telescope or a microscope, and never with his natural eye; to study chemistry, and not learn how his bread is made, or mechanics, and not learn how it is earned; to discover new satellites to Neptune, and not detect the motes in his eyes, or to what vagabond he is a satellite himself; or to be devoured by the monsters that swarm all around him, while contemplating the monsters in a drop of vinegar. Which would have advanced the most at the end of a month,—the boy who had made his own jackknife from the ore which he had dug and smelted, reading as much as would be necessary for this,—or the boy who had attended the lectures on metallurgy at the Institute in the mean while, and had received a Rodgers’ penknife from his father? Which would be most likely to cut his fingers?... To my astonishment I was informed on leaving college that I had studied navigation!—why, if I had taken one turn down the harbor I should have known more about it. Even the _poor_ student studies and is taught only _political_ economy, while that economy of living which is synonymous with philosophy is not even
Other classics
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
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Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time
Louisa May Alcott
Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
Jane Austen
Emma
August Strindberg
Inferno
Victoria Benedictsson
Modern
William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
August Strindberg
Röda Rummet
Hjalmar Söderberg
Förvillelser
Marcel Proust
Swann's WayWhy 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