How to Type Faster: Speed Tips for Writers

If you ever had that moment where your thoughts are racing and your story idea just needs to get out there, but your fingers feel like they’re dragging behind and your momentum feels like it’s dipping, then you’re not alone. One of the biggest hindrances to the writing experience is feeling like you can’t type as fast as your mind thinks, and that can be a very difficult thing to deal with. As someone that speed types (i.e., over 100 WPM), I can tell you that if there’s one thing I think every writer needs to invest time in, it’s learning to type quickly. So, in this post, I’ll break down some speed tips I have for writers to learn how to type faster without losing focus. 

(affiliate disclaimer: some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you when you purchase something through one of my links)

1. Why Typing Speed Matters for Writers

Typing quickly isn’t something that’s just there so you can brag about it online. It’s something that you should harness as a skill to keep up with your overactive brain and your imagination. When your fingers can’t keep up with your thoughts, you lose ideas mid-sentence, break that flow state, and eventually spend more energy trying to catch up with your thoughts. 

Increasing your typing speed allows you to draft smoother, get more ideas down on paper, and finish your word count goals in near record time instead of having to spend hours upon hours for just a few thousand words. 

You don’t need to type at insane speeds, but just hitting 50-70 WPM is enough to make a huge difference in your typing experience. 

2. Benchmark Your Current Typing Speed

Before you start learning how to type faster, you should try and see what your current typing speed is like. You can just simply look up free typing test and click on any link and then start practicing. If you find that your speed is below 40 WPM, then you definitely need to start hitting the keyboard and improving. 

If you’re going at 60-80 WPM, then that’s pretty much the gold standard, but anything above 80 WPM is platinum for sure. Now, I will say that I’ve been speed typing for YEARS. I started when I was a kid and I used to actually use those orange covers for keyboards so that I didn’t see what I was clicking on. That touch typing helped me a lot. I also just honed my skills in and have been doing the same thing for well over a decade, so don’t feel bad if you can’t hit 80+ WPM from your first month; it’s definitely going to take time, but it’s worth the time invested.

3. How to Train Your Speed (Daily Practices)

With typing, like any other skill, you have to train it like you would a muscle. You should be practicing pretty much every day. Start with a 10 minute warmup before you get into writing sprints. You should also practice by covering your keyboard and doing touch-typing to build muscle memory. Typing is really based around muscle memory and your ability to remember that when you extend a certain finger in one direction, you’re going to hit a specific set of keys.

Typing is also about managing your micro-movements, so that’s why it’s really important to practice. Do your best to not look down at your keyboard. That’s the best way to practice in my opinion. Don’t worry about typos, even experienced touch typists still make errors. 

For daily exercises, try NitroType and Monkeytype. NitroType is cool because it gamifies the typing experience and makes it so that you’re driving a race car that goes as fast as you’re typing. It makes it a bit more competitive for people who enjoy that experience. 

4. Upgrade Your Gear

Sometimes, the best way to get faster at typing is to actually invest in a decent keyboard. A bad keyboard is going to set you back because the actuation point of the individual keys may require far too much force and you may not be typing at the speed you could actually be typing at. The less the actuation, the better for speed typing. 

I recommend mechanical keyboards for most people, because a mechanical keyboard is efficient, gives you a satisfying tactile feedback, allows for fewer missed keystrokes, and helps to reduce typing strain. 

If you REALLY want to upgrade much more, then look into optical keyboards which don’t have mechanical switches in the board but instead actuate based on infra-red lights. These are significantly faster than a standard mechanical keyboard and in my opinion, are the superior keyboard experience. 

Here are some recommended keyboards that I think are great from a range of budgets: 

• Logitech K380 is not mechanical, but still good for people who use tablets like the iPad and is economical and budget-friendly
• RK Royal Kludge is a budget-friendly, compact mechanical keyboard for people who aren’t used to mechanical keyboards just yet and don’t want to break the bank 
• SteelSeries Apex 7 TLK is a great keyboard that is higher in price but one of the best for people who also want some gaming ability out of their keyboard 

I personally use the Corsair K100 RGB keyboard for all my typing for work, gaming, and leisure. I would personally say that if you want to go all-in and invest, then the Corsair K100 is the superior choice.

5. Optimize Your Writing Environment

Typing faster isn’t just about the keyboard and the amount of practice that you’re putting into it. It can also vary dramatically based on the environment that you have set up for your typing experience. A good chair, a proper wrist rest, and a great desk are all things that really can help you improve the way you are writing. Practicing good posture is also underrated and can dramatically affect how you’re typing. 

If you want to learn how to set up a great writing environment, then check out this post → How to Create the Ultimate Writing Setup

Not only that, but the way you set up your screen is important. Try to close tabs that distract you and turn on notifications for optimal focus during your practice sessions. You should also try to write in short sprints and vary the amount of time that you’re writing each day. Don’t go in on day one typing for an entire hour straight! That’ll just burn you out over time. 

Conclusion

Now, when typing stories, it’s alright to stop and think about what you want to type. Nobody said that you have to type out a stream of words and anything you think of. That’s not really conducive to good writing, but what helps is having the ability to speed type because when you’re in a flow state, you’ll actually be able to keep up with your speedy thoughts. 

The faster you can type, the easier the writing experience will become. You aren’t going to be typing at a consistent 90 WPM while writing a book, but having the ability to go that fast is the best option. 

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