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Footpaths is my journal on reading and writing at Footnotes & Tangents. Edit your notification settings here to get Footpaths in your inbox.
So, I wrote 10,000 words today. Mostly here:
But also here:
I have escaped to the very trad seaside town of Saltburn-on-Sea in North Yorkshire for a three-day writing retreat. It was the United Kingdom’s oldest water-powered funicular. I haven’t been on it yet – maybe tomorrow?
I did manage a 10-mile hike along the cliffs to a nearby beach. This was novel walking where my feet did all the thinking and told my fingers all about it when they were reunited with the keyboard. This is the keyboard:
I’ve borrowed this splendidly retro Alphasmart typewriter. This is the main reason why I have written so much today. No computer, no phone, no distraction. And with just four lines of text to look at, no terrifying blank space to fill.
Has anyone used one of these?
So yes, a great start to this writing weekend, my first real opportunity to do some uninterrupted writing since becoming a parent five years ago. Let’s hope tomorrow is just as successful.
Good night, all.
My bedside books
Not much time for reading this weekend, although I listened to some more The Magic Mountain coming over on the train last night. I’ve also been flicking through Richard Skinner’s Writing a Novel today; a concise, limpid primer.
I used to have a Smith Corona typewriter back in the 90s when I was at uni. It had 3 or 4 lines of text too. I loved that machine. Yours looks cool too. It’ll possibly come as no surprise, but I’m hoping to do my writing longhand. I bought a fancy leather folio and some A4 pads to get me going. A retreat like yours would sure be helpful!
I am thrilled that you are getting this kind of a writing retreat after devoting yourself so much to parenting and guiding multiple groups of slow-readers (including me). I schedule writing retreats twice a year at a Benedictine abbey guesthouse with woods, lake, walking paths, and a fantastic college library and value them highly, but, I must say, your location’s view is particularly inspiring. Best wishes for the next 10,000 words!