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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.

Type the words from the book. We gave you 4 words to start with.

Mrs. Dalloway

by Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf, first published in 1925. It is a modernist novel that follows a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a society hostess in post-World War I England. The novel explores themes of time, memory, and the human psyche.

Read more about Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.

For Lucy had her work cut out for her. The doors would be taken off
their hinges; Rumpelmayers men were coming. And then, thought Clarissa
Dalloway, what a morning--fresh as if issued to children on a beach.

What a lark! What a plunge! For so it had always seemed to her, when,
with a little squeak of the hinges, which she could hear now, she had
burst open the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air.
How fresh, how calm, stiller than this of course, the air was in the
early morning; like the flap of a wave; the kiss of a wave; chill and
sharp and yet (for a girl of eighteen as she then was) solemn, feeling
as she did, standing there at the open window, that something awful was
about to happen; looking at the flowers, at the trees with the smoke
winding off them and the rooks rising, falling; standing and looking
until Peter Walsh said, “Musing among the vegetables?”--was that
it?--“I prefer men to cauliflowers”--was that it? He must have said it
at breakfast one morning when she had gone out on to the terrace--Peter
Walsh. He would be back from India one of these days, June or July, she
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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