Take your typewriter outside!

I recently wrote about how I haven't used my typewriters in a while and haven't had the chance to test the one that has been in my collection the shortest time. So I decided to use it for another of my little writing retreats. Today, I'm also testing a new setup for transporting my typewriters. That is on the trunk of my bicycle, just like I used to transport various items on the trunk of my bicycle while studying in the Netherlands.

There's something magical about sitting down with an analog device in nature. I appreciate the opportunity to write on a keyboard I've never used before, an unknown but comfortable keyboard, with new ink, and in the midst of nature.

If I take my typewriter out, it's always nature, that's what seems to be the most appropriate. I wouldn't like to disturb other people's work by clicking too loudly. But there will come a time when I will muster the courage to use the typewriter in public. I've yet to try typing in a coffee shop or even a park where other people are present. Thinking about it, I'm reminded of an excerpt from Richard Polt's The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist's Companion for the 21st Century, in which Mark Petersen offers advice on public typewriting (the part on outlets is my personal favorite 🙂):