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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
candelabras, glittering stars, breasts stiff with oak leaves, Hugh
Whitbread and all his colleagues, the gentlemen of England, that night
in Buckingham Palace. And Clarissa, too, gave a party. She stiffened a
little; so she would stand at the top of her stairs.

The car had gone, but it had left a slight ripple which flowed through
glove shops and hat shops and tailorsshops on both sides of Bond
Street. For thirty seconds all heads were inclined the same way--to the
window. Choosing a pair of gloves--should they be to the elbow or above
it, lemon or pale grey?--ladies stopped; when the sentence was finished
something had happened. Something so trifling in single instances that
no mathematical instrument, though capable of transmitting shocks
in China, could register the vibration; yet in its fulness rather
formidable and in its common appeal emotional; for in all the hat shops
and tailorsshops strangers looked at each other and thought of the
dead; of the flag; of Empire. In a public house in a back street a
Colonial insulted the House of Windsor which led to words, broken beer
glasses, and a general shindy, which echoed strangely across the way
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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