Typing

This week I've been writing between 500-1000 words a day. I'm now 6400 words into my new WIP. My own deadline is set for 22 November 2010, that's 72 days left for me to finish.

I'll have to churn out about 1k words a day, which is certainly possible. The problem is that I am a slow typist, my max speed being 40 words per minute.

I write(When I write) two hours daily, in an ideal situation I should be able to write 4800 words daily at my slow 40wpm max speed. In practice(Harsh reality) I manage only about 1000 max a day, that's about 8wpm typing, even my longhand is faster.

I used to write longhand and indeed I wrote about twice the speed I'm doing now typing. So why did I stop writing longhand? It's because once I finish a first draft I still had to type the text over on my computer at a whopping 8wpm.

The reason my typing goes that slow is because besides thinking about what to write, I've to watch my keyboard from time to time to be able to type correctly. I cant type as I wish with my eyes glued to the screen.

So I'll do the thing I've dreaded a long time to do, I'll pick up my typing training where I left it off, twenty yeas ago at chapter one. I hope within weeks to be typing 120 wpm, 14400 words every two hours. I'll be a speed demon writer, leaving every other writer coughing in my dust while writing one book a week.

Okay, maybe that won't happen. I'll be glad if my current max becomes my new average, typing 40 wpm consistently will do, a possible 4800 words every two hours. It would make it possible to have a first draft finished within a month, that would be great.

The need for speed is ever present, so if you're like me, a slow typist, it may be a good idea to take some typing lessons.