For the Love of Writing. 

A reminder of the family jewel.

Memories of typewriters past. The IBM Selectric.

THERE IS ROMANCE IN THE KEYS OF A TYPEWRITER. The click, snap, ding and slide. I grew up with a family typewriter like the one pictured. I used to play with it all of the time. I took typing in high school and clocked 100 words per minute. When I graduated from Michigan State University I got a job, an apartment, a car and my very own Selectric Typewriter. It set me back $900 but it was worth it. I wrote on that thing for years. Journals and verse mostly. The time spent writing on that electric steel machine with it's spinning, whirling ball was pure joy.  I gave my prized Selectric to the Salvation Army several years ago, and frankly, I miss it. Today, of course, I write on my MacBook Pro. Not so romantic, but it does have its advantages. The ease of looking up references. Cut, paste, save. All good.
     One day my Mac and I sat on my couch and wrote for 13 hours. I was working on a middle-grade novel (ages 8-12). I'd written 20,000 words up to that point, but the truth is, I had been trudging through it, pulling the story out of me. But at some point during that 13 hour day, I began to actually write the book. The characters came alive and made me laugh. They were all so sweet and funny. The antagonist made me laugh the most. I am passionate about this work. I like meeting my characters, then walking with them as they take me into their world. 
     Reflecting more fully I guess  I'd say that it doesn't matter which machine I work on, it's the writing that I love. Perhaps that is truly where the romance lies.