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Practice your writing by typing out classic literature. This method not only enhances your understanding of rhythm, structure, and nuances but also connects you deeply with the timeless flow of literary history.This is a BETA version.
Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It is the second of Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his return from 5 years of exile in Siberia and is considered the first great novel of his "mature" period of writing. The novel is often cited as one of the supreme achievements in literature.
chairs along the walls and two or three half-penny prints in yellow frames, representing German damsels with birds in their hands--that was all. In the corner a light was burning before a small ikon. Everything was very clean; the floor and the furniture were brightly polished; everything shone. “Lizaveta’s work,” thought the young man. There was not a speck of dust to be seen in the whole flat. “It’s in the houses of spiteful old widows that one finds such cleanliness,” Raskolnikov thought again, and he stole a curious glance at the cotton curtain over the door leading into another tiny room, in which stood the old woman’s bed and chest of drawers and into which he had never looked before. These two rooms made up the whole flat. “What do you want?” the old woman said severely, coming into the room and, as before, standing in front of him so as to look him straight in the face. “I’ve brought something to pawn here,” and he drew out of his pocket an old-fashioned flat silver watch, on the back of which was engraved a globe; the chain was of steel.
Other classics
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Cranford
Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
Jane Austen
Emma
William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Louisa May Alcott
Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1
August Strindberg
Inferno
Victoria Benedictsson
Modern
August Strindberg
Röda Rummet
Hjalmar Söderberg
Förvillelser
Marcel Proust
Swann's Way
Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great GatsbyWhy Type a Masterpiece?
Typing out classical literature is not just an exercise in patience; it's a deeply immersive way to understand the rhythm, structure, and nuances of great writing. By manually reproducing the works of renowned authors, you engage with the text on a level that reading alone cannot offer. This method allows you to feel the flow of sentences, the choice of words, and the intricate construction of paragraphs that make these works timeless.
Style is a very simple matter; it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can't use the wrong words.
– Virginia Woolf
literati is a unique platform where writers can select from a vast collection of public domain classics to type out. This practice is akin to a musician playing pieces by the masters to internalize the elements of composition and performance. Just as the musician learns the subtleties of each note and chord, the writer learns the power of each word and sentence.
Prose is like hair; it shines with combing.
– Gustave Flaubert
Engaging directly with masterpieces allows writers to absorb the rhythm of the text, the ebb and flow of its pacing, and the beauty of its imagery. It cultivates an appreciation for the craft of writing and provides invaluable lessons in how to construct compelling narratives, develop characters, and evoke emotions in readers. Happy typing!
The only truth is music.
– Jack Kerouac