The old typewriter at the library sale sparked a whole new plot

Last fall I was helping sort donations at the county library sale in Harrisburg. Someone dropped off this beat up 1952 Smith Corona, keys stuck and ribbon tangled. Out of curiosity I took it home, cleaned it for maybe 2 hours, and got it working. Now I use it to draft every character backstory before I write. There's something about the clunk and the ding that forces me to slow down and think. I used to just open a blank document and freeze. That machine gave me a way around it. Has anyone else found an odd tool or object that changed their writing routine for the better?

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the_nancy2d ago

lol I did the same thing with an old flip phone I found at a thrift store, now I type all my rough drafts on it and the tiny keys make me pick every word on purpose. It's like having a built in editor before I even open my laptop.