Hi everyone! For today’s Tuesday Tryouts, I want to mention challenges intended to increase typing speed. Though not everyone needs to increase their speed, you may find some of the exercises help you get in front of the computer to start typing at the beginning of your writing session.
My Beginnings
I don’t know about other writers out there, but when I first started writing, my typing skills were abysmal. I could come up with stories at lightning speed in my head, but my typing was slow, and I still had to look at the keyboard occasionally to pick the proper letter. I wasn’t a two-finger typist, but I wasn’t using all of my fingers either. Around the time I was trying to land an administrative job requiring a typing speed of 60 words per minute (WPM), I realized just how bad my typing really was.
Some might argue that you don’t need to type at a certain speed as a writer, but from personal experience, it definitely helps to write in the 60WPM or higher range. I got through college with a typing speed of about 36 WPM, but as a science major, I didn’t have to write multiple drafts or go through endless edits, so it didn’t hold me back. Once I transitioned to writing—something that took me entirely too long to do—I quickly realized that 36 WPM wasn’t going to cut it when trying to churn out rough drafts rapidly.
It was a harsh realization, but the good news was that improving my typing speed was surprisingly easy. With schools now teaching typing in elementary classrooms, many websites are designed to help people type faster and more accurately. My personal favorites are Typing.com and NitroType.com.
Typing.com: Lessons to get your fingers on the correct keys
When I first started working on my typing, I used Typing.com to learn proper finger placement. Typing.com is structured in a way that helped me learn where to place my fingers on the keyboard for optimal and efficient typing. The site offered bite-sized lessons that were easy to fit into my day, and I could test my typing speed as often as I wanted. The site also offers fun mini-games, which can make practicing more enjoyable. This first site was crucial for me since I wasn’t using all of my fingers to type.
If you already know how to type using all of your fingers without looking down at the keyboard, Typing.com may not be as helpful for you. However, if you struggle in specific areas, like certain letters or the number row, this site is also great for honing in on those problem areas. You can choose which keys to work on, and the site provides plenty of repetitions. This helped me a lot, especially with the number row and the letters V, C, X, and Z—my “trouble keys.” Even though I’m faster now, they’re still a bit tricky, and I occasionally go back to the site if I am consistently mistyping a letter.
After completing the lessons on Typing.com, I reached a consistent typing speed of 50-55 WPM. However, I still wanted to type faster, and I wasn’t sure what else I could do besides practice typing more every day. However, focusing on both typing and content felt tedious, and I often found myself bored and unmotivated.
NitroType.com: Daily practice races to help increase your typing speed
I discovered NitroType.com when I was determined to reach at least the 60 WPM mark. NitroType.com is a racing game where you compete against others to see who can type a few sentences the fastest. I’ve been playing on and off for a little over a year now, and my typing speed has increased to an average of 76 WPM, with my personal best being 90 WPM. On NitroType, you get to customize a racecar, and you even get to use a speed boost once per race. The best part, though, is that the site gives you three daily goals to achieve, which has helped me incorporate it into my routine long after I reached my 60 WPM goal.
As a part of my writing routine, I usually set a timer for 10-15 minutes and race on NitroType prior to writing sessions. Between trying to reach the daily goals—whether it’s accuracy, wins, or number of races—and trying to beat the other cars, I’ve seen my typing speed improve significantly. I’ve also picked up helpful tips from the site, like reading ahead while typing and focusing on accuracy over speed.
I feel like I’m at a reasonable speed now since you can only type so much faster before you start typing faster than your brain can create ideas. But even when you reach a reasonable WPM speed for you, that doesn’t mean you have to give up writing games completely.
Using Typing Games as a Warm-up for Writing Sessions
If your typing speed is already high, you may not need to do extra typing practice. However, as I mentioned in last week’s blog post on free writing, sometimes it’s about finding what works best for you. For me, these typing races are a great way to get my fingers moving in the morning. I’ve realized that if I spend too much time racing, I start to get bored with the game and end up thinking about what I want to write in my writing session. I rarely finish my 15-minute timer anymore because I get restless and start itching to write something real.
Improving my typing speed has helped me write faster, which has, in turn, improved my overall writing process. Do I think I still need more practice? Maybe. I wouldn’t mind being faster, but I don’t think it’s necessary at this part in my writing journey. But what is still incredibly helpful is using the typing exercises as a warm-up. It’s a great way to shake off the morning sluggishness and ease into my writing routine. On days when I’m staring at a blank page, playing NitroType for a few minutes gets me in the right mindset.
Parting Thoughts
I’ve learned that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to writing. Typing games have helped me increase my writing speed and find ways to get started typing for the day. While increasing my typing speed won’t magically make me churn out novels faster (if my brain is slower than my fingers), it has become a valuable tool in my routine. Typing games can be a motivator, especially when I don’t know where to start my writing day.
Even though many writers probably have a much higher typing speed than me, I still think it’s worth trying these exercises—you never know what might help you get going in the morning. For me, it’s often a little car racing through typing, and I’m pretty content with that.
So, I encourage everyone to try it and see if it adds value to their writing process. You might be surprised at how much it helps!
Happy typing,
B.R. Quinn
side note: I don’t get anything from promoting these sites—I’ve simply used them and found them to be a fantastic tool.
B.R. Quinn 