Today is world typing day!
This international holiday is often easily overlooked but is highly relevant to those who work with computers, especially authors and aspiring writers. World Typing Day originated in 2011 with a Malaysian typing contest. Now the day is observed all over.
Why is this significant for writers?
Learning to touch-type instead of pecking away at the keyboard is an invaluable skill that can help you save time and increase efficiency.
Think about it this way, the faster and easier it is to type, the quicker you can churn out more novels. Let's break down the math:
A typical book is 50,000 words.
If you type at a rate of 50 words per minute (WPM), it will take you 1,000 minutes to write the first draft of your book. That's 16 hours and 40 minutes. You can bang it out in a day, or you could break it up into 4 hour and 10-minute sessions and complete your manuscript in four days instead.
The average typing speed for an adult is 40 WPM. It would take an adult 1,250 minutes to type a 50,000-word manuscript, or 20 hours and 50 minutes.
Increasing your typing speed by an additional ten words would save you 4 hours and 10 minutes!
How to observe World Typing Day:
Study a new keyboard layout:QWERTY keyboards aren't the only English layout available for computers, just the most popular.
Dvorak keyboard is an alternative to the QWERTY keyboard patented in 1936 by August Dvorak. The ergonomic design makes typing easier while taking into account right-handed typists. Currently, the QWERTY format scatters vowels all over the keyboard. Only the letter "a" rests on the home row. You have to stretch your fingers above and below to reach the other vowels. In contrast, the Dvorak keyboard places the most common letters on the home row for your convenience.
Practice touch typing:
Whether with a QWERTY keyboard or something completely new, there is no better time to practice touch typing than today! When typing, check your form. How are you placing your wrists? Are you looking at the keys, or are your eyes fixed on the screen? Are you slouching or sitting upright? It can be easy to slide into bad habits, but a quick check-in is enough to get you back on track.
More ways to observe World Typing Day:
- Take a test and find out your typing speed
- Watch a youtube video on the history of typing
- Start a touch typing online course
- Share a typing awareness post with your friends on social media.
- Switch your mobile keyboard to another format for the day
No matter how you choose to celebrate, it's a great time to be mindful of how typing affects our everyday life.
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