Project start date: 23. March 2007

A few weeks back, my friend Jesse gave me the typewriter pictured above. He’d grown tired of my plinking around with broken machines, complaining that “if only” I had a decent typewriter, I’d start writing on one. He knew damned well that I was just tossing out another excuse to evade writing. By gifting me with a mint green Hermes 2000, Jesse was, in effect, telling me to put up or shut up. I chose the latter until a few days ago, when the guilt of letting the Hermes collect dust overwhelmed me.

I’ve selected fifty of my favorite Polaroid pictures that I’ve taken in the past few years. Using each as a ’seed’ I will pen a small vignette and post it here. Most likely, this will be at the rate of one story every few days until I’m done. Writing on a typewriter is quite different for me compared to say, using a computer. It’s slower, more methodical and definitely more maddening. No cutting and pasting, no easy spell checking. For these reasons, and perhaps due to the more contemplative nature of sitting outside with a typewriter, I’ve noticed that my Hermes 2000 efforts have a different tone, a different voice. I don’t know it it’s better or worse (yet), but it sure is something new.

If you like something you read, please add a comment or drop me a note. Conversely, if you think a story is pure crap, don’t be bashful. Further, feel free to correct me on my grammar, as I’m not working with an editor and am rather prone to abusing the language. As this will culminate in a self-published book, help from those who sleep with a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style tucked ‘neath their pillow will be highly valued and appreciated.

Everything posted here is a DRAFT. That is, I will post them before they have been completely polished and the polishing process will continue daily. A story read today may change a bit tomorrow - or a whole lot next week. If I wait until they’re ‘perfect’ before posting, well, the process would take much longer. I think it’s kind of fun this way - allowing strangers to peek into my writings before they’re really done. It’s good for me. Gives me callouses.

I can be reached at tod@polafiction.com

You can also visit my primary site www.todbrilliant.com where you will find a number of scarcely intelligible rants.

This is me on a good day: