Going Retro

Here's something noteworthy - "Double Exposure", the story I just sold to Daily Science Fiction, was originally written on a typewriter. I started using a typewriter last summer - I used it at a table in the dealers' room at ArmadilloCon in Austin. I've typed the first draft of all my stories since then on this Smith Corona Class 12. "Double Exposure" is the first story I've written on the typewriter that's been sold (pro sale, too).

I did not submit a typewritten manuscript. The original version came out to a little over 1,200 words. I scanned the pages and converted them to a text file, then did the final editing and trimmed it down to below 1,000 words.

One thing about working like this, it preserves the first draft. I still have that hard copy. It's useful to track how you edited; I noticed in going back to the original typewritten version that I completely eliminated one character. As you may know, eliminating at least one character is usually a sign of a good edit.