Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Paperback Writer

Weather, Brighton breezy as the Mondegreen of the well known weather forecast couplet would put it.

The evenings are starting to noticeably shorten again and I found myself nodding off as the dusk fell last night. I think I'll have to start using my light again to keep my bed time at a reasonable hour. My energy levels and sleeping patterns are not too bad at the moment, but I think I will have to keep a weather eye on them as the year turns.

In games news, I downloaded the DLC episode of Alan Wake and made a start on it last night. Not to spoil over much for anyone who hasn't completed the main story line yet, but it looks to be an entertainingly nightmarish trek through some of the most interesting locations from the game. I particularly like the type-written words floating in the air, being a literal representation of the creative process at work.

I wonder if Alan Wake is the only author who still uses a manual typewriter? I imagine that most writers will use some form of word processor or other, and that a handful will use pen and paper, but a typewriter is a very different kettle of fish. I still have a fondness for the fiendishly complex mechanisms that translate a press of a key into the typeface striking the ribbon via a series of linking rods and joints. I haven't used a manual typewriter for anything serious for twenty five years or so, but I still find myself sometimes bashing computer keyboards with slightly more force than is strictly necessary.

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