Saturday, July 20, 2013

The paper-pen, Laptop or the smartphone?
Er....is there room for a typewriter in there?


So a few months ago I finally got myself a
cute little portable typewriter
i've been using it to write short stories
can't write my screenplays on it as yet
because typing on it takes time...
and that's the thing about it - time.
whilst typing away on it, it gives me
time to reflect and think. the words come
out better and i stay more disciplined
and focused -
one reason being there are no delete keys on it!
but i've noticed my writings come out far better
on my typewriter.
not something i find while tapping away
on my laptop.
time again is another thing going for such
instruments.
there are typewriters a hundred years old
doing perfectly well what is was meant to do
in the first place - generate written communication.
there's no technology today that would last that long.
this laptop that i'm writing on costs a thousand times more
than my typewriter and would probably last a tenth
of it's lifetime.
and then there's the thing about every typeface of a
typewriter being uniquely different from any other. it's like
a fingerprint. so what you type is uniquely your own.
not something that comes out of a laser printer.




but the most valuable instrument for me is my
pen and paper. actually my pencil and paper.
my very first ideas on my screenplays are always
in pencil and paper. it just seem very right for the
purpose, where i can scribble away and actually
'feel' what i'm writing. and of course there's always
the occasional doodle when i have a block.
then there's always some ideas popping up in
my brains when i'm rubbing off a part of the
paper with an eraser or simply sharpening my pencils.
i use the faber-castell set of pencils. and i mostly stick to
6b or 8b whilst writing. they're just the right amount
of soft and dark

but i do love the fountain pen. and i think the ball pen
is atrocious.except when camping outdoor and i'm keeping
a log so that the rain don't was away the letters on the page.
but fountain pen's are getting more and more expensive these
days. right now the most expensive in my collection is a
six thousand rupees waterman, which i think is too much,
but since it was a lovely gift from my wife i gladly took it. :)
the others are modest priced sheaffer and a parker.
there's is something about writing with a fountain pen
that you don't get with any other instrument. especially
if you are lucky to get one with a gold tip which slowly
gets rubbed in over time and shapes up according
to your writing style, so uniquely becoming your own
over time.
it's also the best gift i think you can gift your child.



now i've also begun writing away on my smartphone.
in fact my phone's becoming increasingly intrusive into
my life ever since i bought it despite my efforts. but
that's a whole different page.

TYPEWRITERS HERE!

If you are in Guwahati and want to buy typewriters
 that map above is where you need to go. they are a very
old shop and have some cute portable typewriters stored.
make sure to see a few before buying the best
one for you. they're all second ones though.
 typewriters aren't made anymore.


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