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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.

Type the words from the book. We gave you 4 words to start with.

Mrs. Dalloway

by Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf, first published in 1925. It is a modernist novel that follows a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a society hostess in post-World War I England. The novel explores themes of time, memory, and the human psyche.

Read more about Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
bustling middle-class people--vanished, like leaves, to be trodden
under, to be soaked and steeped and made mould of by that eternal
spring--

    ee um fah um so
    foo swee too eem ooPoor old woman,” said Rezia Warren Smith, waiting to cross.

Oh poor old wretch!

Suppose it was a wet night? Suppose ones father, or somebody who had
known one in better days had happened to pass, and saw one standing
there in the gutter? And where did she sleep at night?

Cheerfully, almost gaily, the invincible thread of sound wound up into
the air like the smoke from a cottage chimney, winding up clean beech
trees and issuing in a tuft of blue smoke among the topmost leaves.
“And if some one should see, what matter they?”

Since she was so unhappy, for weeks and weeks now, Rezia had given
meanings to things that happened, almost felt sometimes that she must
stop people in the street, if they looked good, kind people, just to
say to themI am unhappy”; and this old woman singing in the streetif some one should see, what matter they?” made her suddenly quite
sure that everything was going to be right. They were going to Sir
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Why 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

More on this topic:

"Imitate then innovate", an article by David Perell