Some writers challenge our perceptions, and to enjoy or “get” their writing, we have to venture out of our comfort zones. As a writer who never had any desire to be suitable for mass consumption, I fear this type of writing will become extinct. Hell, they are probably already endangered.

You know the type of writer I am writing about. Charles Bukowski said it wasn’t that he was that good. It was just the others were so bad. Paraphrasing there. But this week, I want to chat about another amazing writer who challenged us to expand our views.

Hunter S Thompson.

A man who created a persona so enthralling it drew not just millions of fans but even the writer into that persona. Hunter loved Gonzo and, on several occasions, admitted to acting like Gonzo for fans and paparazzi.

One of the most frequently quoted writers today, Hunter lived a life that few would have the courage to follow. Much like the outlaw country western singers of the '70s and '80s, who had to serve a hard time before they hit it big, Hunter challenged the law.

In fact, he challenged the law so much that he ran for county sheriff in 1970. While he did not win that election, he did open the eyes of people all around the world.

His critics will say he was only a drug addict and drunk. But anyone who has actually read his works, not just his quotes, knows that he was so much more than that. It could be argued that he did so many drugs that his writing, like the lyrics of Jim Morrison, another amazing poet who used drugs, can allow their listeners/readers to expand their perceptions without the drugs.

Is that a sacrifice these writers made? They abused their bodies with alcohol and drugs and shared their altered views and perceptions with us. I know it is fashionable today to get stoned, and it is even legal in many states. But I have never found the urge for that. Probably because my allergies from the smoke would destroy any enjoyment.

Yet, after reading their work, I feel a closeness to Jim and Hunter. So, as a modern writer in a world hell-bent on conformity, how do we share our perceptions without being drowned out?

They both drank, Hunter was famous for cocaine and other drugs, and Jim was known to take about anything anyone handed him at a party. And Charles, well, no one loved wine and beer more than Charles.

I know many fellow writers who will get drunk or high before writing and even more who claim that they do but who do not actually do much writing while drunk. I only write poetry when I am drunk, but I have never been able to write fiction worth reading while drunk.

Maybe as writers, it is less about drinking, drugs, or prison and more about simply doing something unusual enough that it gets people to stop and say, what the *uck?

I live in a homestead on 20 acres, hate going anywhere with a crowd, am marrying a woman from a foreign country half my age, and am paranoid that a word processor will eat my writing or someone will steal it. Yep, that last one resonates despite most of us struggling to sell a few thousand books, lol. Yet we still worry someone will steal our work and somehow make it go viral.

So, is there enough weirdness in my writing to get that what the *uck that can lead to popularity? So far, the answer is nope. But with every page, there is fresh hope. And if all else fails in a few years, I hear the edibles pot brownies are delicious, and since I am already fat…

Part two of what Charles Bukowski and Hunter S Thompson shared was a love of writing on typewriters. Ok, so for most of their careers, they had the choice of a pen or a typewriter, but later on, they could have checked out word processors.

I have tried and enjoyed writing on a manual typewriter. I love the sound of the keys striking. I wonder if I could find a typewriter or keyboard to make the cha-ching cash register sound every time I type a letter.

How amazing would that be? Most of us still get paid by the word anyway, so how inspiring would that be? Of course, delete would need to be the sound of a toilet flushing, so editing would be even more depressing, but the cha-ching would kick.

It is the Fourth of July this week, and it is my first here in Kansas with my Filipino fiancé. We intend to get drunk, make smores, and roast chipotle sausages. One of the benefits of being a recluse in the middle of nowhere Kansas is that I can still do that in my pasture, and the coyotes don’t complain.

My fiancé didn't care for hotdogs, so we are going with the chipotle sausages. I am sure you are wondering about that by now. So, what does all of that have to do with sharing experiences out of the ordinary with our readers?

Well, you are still reading, aren’t yeah? Haha.

Seriously, if getting high and shooting a typewriter was enough for Hunter S Thompson to have another viral photo when shooting television was not that unusual, what little idiosyncrasy that we live with every day might shed a bit of that spotlight on our writing?

Do you have any idea how many people search for what the writer wrote on this or that typewriter every day? Look it up; I think you will be surprised. In a world that seems to have less patience or willingness to experience things that are off the beaten path, could simply writing with a typewriter be enough for people to notice our writing?

What if we go one step further and write on a typewriter dressed as Socrates or simply naked?

I challenge you to send in pics of you writing in unusual places, ways, or clothing. The naked thing is overdone today, so let's skip that one… Send your best weird writing pictures to writeon@classictypewriter.com

If we are inspired or weirded out by your picture, we will share it with our audience. While not Rolling Stone, it will attract a few extra eyeballs and have people notice you writing…

Voldane Pelt

They say don’t drink and drive, but no one has ever said don’t drink and write…

Hunter S Thompson.