If you’re one of the select few who subscribe to my largely dormant Substack (@annalawrence5×3), I’m sorry - you may have read a version of what follows. At some point I’ll do the sensible thing and streamline my digital life. But in the meantime…

I’ve been writing something in exercise books on and off since last Easter. (I won’t call it a novel yet as that might jinx it. Let’s call it ‘a sustained piece of writing that feels intrinsically alive rather than a bundle of rags and straw and offal that I’m trying to animate, and isn’t THAT a relief after so long.’) First I wrote to find the story (draft zero, as Terry Pratchett put it), and then pulled out the key points of the emerging story onto flash cards and noted down the book/page reference to connect it with the raw writing.

When I was pretty sure I’d found the story and the characters, I wanted to build momentum with the next draft and looked for a distraction-free writing app. (When I had a MacBook, I loved Ommwriter. You could choose to write on a soft white screen fringed with a snowy forest to the sound of a steam train moving over sleepers.) I found apps that mimic a typewriter - one font, typing sounds, no editing allowed - but started wondering what it would be like to use an actual physical typewriter again.

I was lucky enough to find a Smith-Corona Courier in a charity shop for £10. I can touch-type (thanks to procrastinating as a Master’s student with a free AccuType floppy disk) and I think that probably makes typing on a typewriter less frustrating, but aside from that, here are my observations:

1. No distractions. The choice is red/black ribbon, or adjusting the spacing.

2. Single purpose. I sit down to write at it and that’s it. No task switching, no in-built interruptability, except reversing the ribbon when it reaches the end.

3. I associate the typewriter entirely with ‘creative’ writing (not emails, Excel, Google, streaming, audio, banking, etc.) so I’m primed to write when I sit down in front of it.

4. My wrists and hands and forearms are getting stronger.

5. I can’t do any substantive editing on it. I’m moving through this next draft quickly and finding out more about the characters and about the nuances of how the story unfolds rather than honing each sentence. Double spacing means I can go back and add a few words in between the lines, but I can’t tinker endlessly or move paragraphs about.

6. Deleting is laborious so if I make a mistake, I just keep going or scribble out a line with pencil.

7. I’m not just transcribing what’s in the exercise books. Because typing is a bit slower than on my PC, there’s a bit more time to think and therefore rewrite as I go.

8. No word counts and no little wiggly lines urging me to correct a spelling.

9. I’m using up scrap paper.

10. The typewriter is theoretically portable but I can’t imagine where I could use it outside my own home, because it’s SO LOUD. (That said, I quite like the idea of sitting next to someone on a train who’s watching YouTube without headphones, and hammering out a few pages.)

11. I have an exercise book alongside me. If I need to look something up, I’ll write it in there. If something strikes me about the plot - needing to add a new scene, a query about whether a character is actually needed at all (or needs to walk off to find a different story), etc - I write it down.

I’m sure this way of writing wouldn’t work for everyone - you have to find a cheap typewriter, for a start - and I don’t know how long it’ll work for me. But it’s got me back into writing after a few months’ hiatus. I’m remembering how calm it feels to do something with a single-purpose tool, and I’m curious to see where it takes me.

WRITING WORKSHOP

I’m so excited to get going with the next batch of writing workshops, starting NEXT WEEK! If you haven’t yet signed up and you’re thinking of joining, drop me an email on bwriting@icloud.com.

Details:

This course of ten weekly workshops is designed to help you get started or move forward on a creative project, whatever your genre or writing experience. It’s ideal for anyone who wants structure and accountability and who’s ready to develop their writing craft. If you don’t know what you want to write, that’s fine, too - we’ll kick off the course with a couple of sessions to help you generate and select ideas. If you have questions or aren’t sure whether this is the right course for you, please get in touch and we can arrange at time to chat.

• Tuesday evenings from 6.30-8.30pm

• Starting 3 February

• Birmingham and Midland Institute, 9 Margaret St, B3 3BS.

• No classes or Zooms during school half term (17 Feb) - or school Easter holidays (31 March/7 April).

THE PRICING STRUCTURE

Life can be complex and I know people can’t necessarily make all 10 classes. I’m therefore experimenting with a payment structure that lets you choose your level of commitment while allowing us to build a core community of writers and make the group sustainable.

Option 1: The 6 session pass - £180 (equivalent to £30 per 2-hour session) 

• Access to 6 sessions across 10 weeks (use them whenever you can attend)

• Access to Zoom writing sessions (usually 1-2 a week) in between sessions

• Pay-as-you-go for any further sessions you attend. £30 per session, payable by 6pm on the day.

Option 2: Full 10 week pass - £270 (equivalent to £27 per 2-hour session)

• All 10 sessions at a cheaper rate

• A manuscript critique (up to 3000 words) from Anna

• Access to Zoom writing sessions (usually 1-2 a week) in between sessions

HOW TO SECURE YOUR PLACE

• Write to me at bwriting@icloud.com telling me you’d like to come to WRITING WORKSHOP, and I’ll send you payment details. That’s it!

Happy writing, all!

Anna