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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.

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The Horror at Red Hook

by H.P. Lovecraft

The Horror at Red Hook is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written on August 1–2, 1925, it was first published in the January 1927 issue of Weird Tales (Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 73–94). It is based on the urban legend of the Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York, and tells the story of a New York City detective who encounters, and becomes involved in, a series of occult-related events.

Read more about H.P. Lovecraft
The Horror at Red Hook
with bent and rusted iron railing.  The houses are generally in solid
blocks, and now and then a many-windowed cupola arises to tell of
days when the households of captains and ship-owners watched the sea.

From this tangle of material and spiritual putrescence the
blasphemies of an hundred dialects assail the sky.  Hordes of
prowlers reel shouting and singing along the lanes and thoroughfares,
occasional furtive hands suddenly extinguish lights and pull down
curtains, and swarthy, sin-pitted faces disappear from windows when
visitors pick their way through.  Policemen despair of order or
reform, and seek rather to erect barriers protecting the outside
world from the contagion.

The clang of the patrol is answered by a kind of spectral silence,
and such prisoners as are taken are never communicative.  Visible
offenses are as varied as the local dialects, and run the gamut from
the smuggling of rum and prohibited aliens through diverse stages of
lawlessness and obscure vice to murder and mutilation in their most
abhorrent guises.  That these visible affairs are not more frequent
is not to the neighborhood's credit, unless the power of concealment
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Why 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

More on this topic:

"Imitate then innovate", an article by David Perell