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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
of stepping this famous pavement, joy of a kind, cheap, tinselly, if
you like, but all the same rapture, flushed their faces. They dressed
well too; pink stockings; pretty shoes. They would now have two hours
at the pictures. It sharpened, it refined them, the yellow-blue evening
light; and on the leaves in the square shone lurid, livid--they
looked as if dipped in sea water--the foliage of a submerged city. He
was astonished by the beauty; it was encouraging too, for where the
returned Anglo-Indian sat by rights (he knew crowds of them) in the
Oriental Club biliously summing up the ruin of the world, here was
he, as young as ever; envying young people their summer time and the
rest of it, and more than suspecting from the words of a girl, from a
housemaids laughter--intangible things you couldnt lay your hands
on--that shift in the whole pyramidal accumulation which in his youth
had seemed immovable. On top of them it had pressed; weighed them down,
the women especially, like those flowers Clarissas Aunt Helena used to
press between sheets of grey blotting-paper with Littrés dictionary
on top, sitting under the lamp after dinner. She was dead now. He had
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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