Treasures in the Old Filing Cabinet

[Susan Littlefield]

Magic in many ways, but often they're black magic, and I'm still rather fond of my old typewriter. Except for changing the ribbons. That was not fun.

I remember having to change the ribbons too. Sometimes they would bunch up in the back of the part that held the ribbon in place, or they would twist. I really miss having a typewriter. I can't use Q10 on my computer, because the OS is Vista. Man, I miss that click, click, clickity sound!

Mmmm. My mom's computer does. Though, hers is about 9 years old now, I guess.

You can buy a portable floppy drive, though. I have one somewhere. I think.

I had no idea floppy disc drives were even available! It would be interesting to see what's on those floppies.

I kind of want to read that......

I tried to buy it from Cyia, but it was an astounding "NO!"

[Bartholomew]

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

Magic in many ways, but often they're black magic, and I'm still rather fond of my old typewriter. Except for changing the ribbons. That was not fun.

Someone gave me a typewriter from the early 1990's a few weeks ago, and I was all excited, because it had a built-in word-processor. PERFECT for rough drafts, I thought--because I could do an on-screen edit, then have it print, and do an on-paper edit--and still have an electronic copy of the document! A dedicated writing machine! The ink ribbon was easy enough to change, and I had several of them, and instructions on how to make them re-usable.

...the goddamn thing won't type a single word without a floppy disk in the drive, and its user-interface is something pulled directly out of hell. I'm sure that, if I looked, I could find someone who sold floppy disks. Somewhere. (and of course, they'd have to be compatible!)

Grrrrrr.

Originally Posted by SusanL

How is Ms. Paula Purheart these days? Have you revived her? Or, is she still lying in her coffin?

She's getting a new name. I've set it aside to work on next. The ideas are jumbled and the scenes are put together in an anti-climatic way--and I have no idea how I thought I was going to tie the plot points together--but some of them, if isolated, could be fun to work with, and might even make compelling fantasy. Gasp.

But yea. New name.

[Susan Littlefield]

Bartholomew,

I know exactly what kind of typewriter you are referring to! Have you ever typed on a manual Underwood from the 1930's? Grandpa and Grandma had one that my mother and her sisters used all thought high school for papers (the last graduated in 1977). Beyond awesome!

How fun that you are reviving Paula Pureheart!!

[Margarita Skies]

Several months ago, when I had just moved back to Puerto Rico, I found one page of a novel that I attempted to write, the very first page, but I couldn't rewrite it, like I do with all the novels I lose, because I printed it with faded ink, without knowing that my printer was running out of ink at the time (twelve years before) and I could hardly read what I had written.

[Susan Littlefield]

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

I skipped Vista, so I know nothing about it, but I made Q10 work on Windows 7, though it didn't want to at first. Like I said, I know nothing about Vista, but with W7, I had to right click on the install file and then click "Run as Administrator". Once I did this, Q10 installed fine.

Anyway, I know a couple of writers who use Q10 on Vista, so there is some way of installing it.

Thank you! I am going to try that.

[Susan Littlefield]

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

I owned two standalone word processors, a Smith Corona and a Brother, and a Smith Corona electronic typewriter that sound much like what you describe. I hated all of them.

I came up against a tight deadline and had to print a complete novel on one of them, feeding paper in one sheet at a time. It took thirteen hours and seven ribbons.

For me, a real typewrite may be electric, but it is not electronic. I greatly prefer my 1949 Royal manual. Those elctronic versions, with the sole exception of the IBM Selectric, were a nightmare.

I had the Brother word processor. Small screen like the MS Dos, saved to a disc. I love it! When my younger brother gave me a computer in 1994 or thereabouts, I gave the word processor to Grandma. However, I must have had that processor since 1988 or thereabouts.

[Susan Littlefield]

Originally Posted by Magali

Several months ago, when I had just moved back to Puerto Rico, I found one page of a novel that I attempted to write, the very first page, but I couldn't rewrite it, like I do with all the novels I lose, because I printed it with faded ink, without knowing that my printer was running out of ink at the time (twelve years before) and I could hardly read what I had written.

Oh man! Do you remember anything about it? Subject matter? Character?

[Margarita Skies]

Originally Posted by SusanL

Oh man! Do you remember anything about it? Subject matter? Character?

I still have it somewhere, but I think that it was about a man and a woman who have known one another since they were children and they were out of touch since they were ten. Ten years later, they fall madly in love.

[Bartholomew]

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

I owned two standalone word processors, a Smith Corona and a Brother, and a Smith Corona electronic typewriter that sound much like what you describe. I hated all of them.

I came up against a tight deadline and had to print a complete novel on one of them, feeding paper in one sheet at a time. It took thirteen hours and seven ribbons.

For me, a real typewrite may be electric, but it is not electronic. I greatly prefer my 1949 Royal manual. Those elctronic versions, with the sole exception of the IBM Selectric, were a nightmare.

I never even THOUGHT about feeding the damn thing paper. Now I'm kind of glad it didn't work. x_X

[Susan Littlefield]

James,

I recall it was very expensive to use the brother. I had to buy ink too. I think this one took the perforated printer paper too, if I recall correctly.

When I was in my writing workshop about 18 years ago, the Brother WP is what I printed my manuscripts out on.

[Margarita Skies]

Originally Posted by semmie

Mmmm. My mom's computer does. Though, hers is about 9 years old now, I guess.

You can buy a portable floppy drive, though. I have one somewhere. I think.

I have never heard of a nine-year-old computer before that's still working. Experts tell us all the time that computers aren't made to last more than 5 years. That is one amazing computer if it's lasted this long. What brand is it?

[Susan Littlefield]

Originally Posted by Magali

I have never heard of a nine-year-old computer before that's still working. Experts tell us all the time that computers aren't made to last more than 5 years. That is one amazing computer if it's lasted this long. What brand is it?

I don't think I have had any computer over 4 or 5 years. I've had my laptop for over 2 years, and thus far it's the best I've had.

[Rhoda Nightingale]

One horrible, horrible space opera that ran on epically, and a load of fanfiction. A lot of fanfiction. Still mostly horror and fantasy--I sent Taylor Hanson to Hell once. That one was illustrated, too.

[Margarita Skies]

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

It's not an amazing computer. Any expert who tells you a computer never lasts more than five years isn't an expert. A slaesman, maybe, but not an expert. I have a fifteen year old HP computer that still works fine, and an eight year old computer that works as well as my brand new one.

Most people get new computers because the old one is outdated, not because it no longer works.

I bought my new one because my old Compaq had a big box monitor, only thirty-five gigs on the hard drive, and 512 Ram. It was just too slow with up to date software, and teh monitor was horrible compared to a new flat screen HD 1080p monitor.

There's a place not far from here that takes in old computers, refubishes them, and then gives them to people who can't aford to buy computers. Eighty percent of the ones they receives still work fine, and some are extremely old.

One reason many computers break down is that uses don't clean them, and they overheat. I pop the case every six months and suck out all the dust. Just doing this helps tremendously.

Wow, James, thank you so much. I've learned so much in this post I don't know where to start. I am a huge fan of yours because your posts, directly to me or to another AWer, are very helpful. I can't even begin to thank you, just tell you that I admire you so much. I hope that my current computer works for me eight years from now. If it does, and we get to January 3, 2018, and it's still working, the first thing that will pop into my mind will be you, and this post. A million thanks. You are simply amazing.

[Susan Littlefield]

Originally Posted by Rhoda Nightingale

One horrible, horrible space opera that ran on epically, and a load of fanfiction. A lot of fanfiction. Still mostly horror and fantasy--I sent Taylor Hanson to Hell once. That one was illustrated, too.

Rhonda, that sounds interesting! I'm guessing the space opera was sci fi? Do you still write this, as well as Fan Fiction?

I think it's great to find old writing, just to see how much we have improved over the years!

[Susan Littlefield]

James and Magali,

I LOVE my HP Compaq laptop! The only reason I ended up having to get rid of my prior HP laptop, which lasted two years, was because the display monitor went out and there was an internal problem that could not be repaired. The man who looked at my computer for hours on end charged me zero, and I went and bought this HP Compaq for less than what it would have cost to have a new monitor put on the old one-- and then, it would have never worked anyway due to the internal problem!

[Gugland]

Whilst purging my belongings this last week, I came across "the box". In it are all my embarrassing early writings, from age 18 to about 30, including a day-by-day journal/rantbook of when my stepfather (who I had never met) pried me away from the work I was so immersed in and convinced me to go up to Alberta, because my mother was apparently dying. Turned out she wasn't, he just lured me up there because he couldn't understand how a mother & son could not have a close relationship. Then I had to spend a week traveling around with him, looking at old abandoned farms, while my job 1500 miles away was in complete chaos. Jerk.

But I also found my early rum-stained diagrams for "Combat Frisbees." Yup, I had created a game, staged on tennis courts, where you would use customized frisbees to destroy cardboard buildings on the opponent's side of the net. And yes, they were lethal! Some split into fragments to rain darts down on his "villages", others dropped flaming liquids, and some even dropped flaming darts.

I often wonder if the apartment managers ever figured out how the scorch marks on the tennis courts got there...

[Susan Littlefield]

[QUOTE]Whilst purging my belongings this last week, I came across "the box". In it are all my embarrassing early writings, from age 18 to about 30, including a day-by-day journal/rantbook of when my stepfather (who I had never met) pried me away from the work I was so immersed in and convinced me to go up to Alberta, because my mother was apparently dying. Turned out she wasn't, he just lured me up there because he couldn't understand how a mother & son could not have a close relationship. Then I had to spend a week traveling around with him, looking at old abandoned farms, while my job 1500 miles away was in complete chaos. Jerk.

That must have been incredible to find your old journals like that. Think about it, those ranting would make a wonderful story, with a lot of embellishments of course!! After all, we are told to write what we know.

But I also found my early rum-stained diagrams for "Combat Frisbees." Yup, I had created a game, staged on tennis courts, where you would use customized frisbees to destroy cardboard buildings on the opponent's side of the net. And yes, they were lethal! Some split into fragments to rain darts down on his "villages", others dropped flaming liquids, and some even dropped flaming darts.

I often wonder if the apartment managers ever figured out how the scorch marks on the tennis courts got there...

Interesting game. Have you thought of developing it into a video game?

[Gugland]

[QUOTE=SusanL;5223152]

That must have been incredible to find your old journals like that. Think about it, those ranting would make a wonderful story, with a lot of embellishments of course!! After all, we are told to write what we know.

Yeah, but I wish I would've actually kept journals. I only seemed to write stuff down when I was extremely bored, frustrated, or just downright pissed (both meanings - angry and/or drunk), so what I have is snapshots of mostly bad times.

ETA: But, the Canada trips (I have notes from more than one) were interesting. I was always VERY different than the locals - rebellious young Californian in Moose Jaw, Sask, need I say more? - and it was interesting how I was perceived by them. And how they perceived California. I came to realize that they thought there was a beach, a row of palm trees, a sidewalk with stars & handprints, then Nevada. It was all glitz and glamor to them. They'd be shocked if they ever visited a sewer like Woodland or Modesto!

Interesting game. Have you thought of developing it into a video game?

Nah, it was just something I toyed with for a week or two, almost twenty years ago.