Touch-Type Novel (and others) writing - good or bad?

I found out a while ago that I'm the only one of my friends who can touch-type (where you don't need to look at the keyboard to type). It's pretty cool, because my friends are always like "How do you do that?" when I type out essays and have a conversation whilst looking at my friends. Many people think it's better to watch what you're typing because you make less mistakes, but I don't get affected by that problem because I use the computer so much to write that I can now touch-type an entire 7000 word chapter (trust me, I've done it!) without looking at the keyboard or making a mistake.

I personally think that it makes typing easier, not having to watch where your fingers are going all of the time, and then you can concentrate on plot holes or things like that - or if a problem crops up, you haven't typed out lines and lines and they haven't shown up because you've accidentally clicked on something.

So, Touch-Type Novelling - Yay or nay? What's your thoughts on touch-typing on the whole?

I can and I can't. I think it's great if you can, cos that way you get so much done, and if you've perfected it then BAM! you're off.

I can do it, but then I get nervous about if I'm pressing the right ones, and look down and then stuff up!

I make less mistakes if I'm watching the screen instead of the keyboard, because I can see how it comes out instead of just watching my fingers on the keys. Even if I'm not watching the screen or the keyboard, for some reason I can tell when I hit the wrong key more easily than when I watching my fingers on the keys.


I remember all the attempts at typing lessons I had in elementary and middle school tried to make me not watch my fingers, but I always resisted it until recently. I still do it sometimes out of habit, but it's becoming just as easy not to now.

I can tell if I'm making mistakes as well. And I just automatically go back and correct them.

I've been able to touch-type since I was 10. I was always interested to learn because my mom could do it so well. But I was really motivated to learn when I found out we had to study it in school the next year. So I spent the entire summer teaching myself. My hard work has paid off though, and I consider myself a pretty good touch-typist.

So, Touch-Type Novelling - Yay or nay? What's your thoughts on touch-typing on the whole?

Whatever works for you.

I can tell if I'm making mistakes as well. And I just automatically go back and correct them.

I've been able to touch-type since I was 10. I was always interested to learn because my mom coiuld do it so well. But I was really motivated to learn when I found out we had to study it in school the next year. So I spent the entire summer teaching myself. My hard work has paid off though, and I consider myself a pretty good touch-typist.

Y'all actually get to study it in school? In our ICT lessons, we just learn about databases and all that yahoozey. :grumble: BOOOO-RINNG!

I've been able to touch type since about fourteen? I guess. I mean in grade eight they gave us tea-towels to cover our hands.

The only problem is that I CAN touch type, I just get distracted and stop and look at the keyboard and think. I'm slow with the plot thing.

I think being able to touch type helps when you're writing - you can spot mistakes and correct them as soon as they appear, and the flow of writing doesn't get interrupted by having to concentrate on finding the right key.

I got 'taught' touch typing at school, but the lessons weren't very helpful. I can only do it because I use the computer a lot for writing essays and stories. I didn't even realise I was doing it til I stopped writing a chapter and realised I hadn't looked down at my hands once. :)

'Nana :)

I prefer touch typing (which I've only just been able to get the hang of). But it doesn't really make a difference. I still look and check each sentence to make sure it makes sense after I've typed it. It doesn't make the process quicker for me.

I think being able to touch type helps when you're writing - you can spot mistakes and correct them as soon as they appear, and the flow of writing doesn't get interrupted by having to concentrate on finding the right key.

It also means that you don't look up from the keyboard only to discover you've been typing in wingdings.

It also means that you don't look up from the keyboard only to discover you've been typing in wingdings.

I've done that before...... :D:lol:

I've taught myself to touch type (funny, in Dutch it's called 'blind typing') so I always type that way. Only when I've got to copy something from a book/paper to screen I tend to look at the keyboard. So, if you want to learn how to touch type - just start doing it during IM chats (MSN etc) and eventually your skill will grow & evolve until you can type confidently without looking at your keyboard.

However, now I regret that I never took a course because I use my cinfers the wrong way - I don't use ten fingers but I rely a lot on my left middle finger and when I type a lot (during NaNoWriMo, for instance, wrote 103 000 words in one month) I develop RSI-like complaints. So, if you want to learn how to type very fast, don't teach yourself... ;)

I can do a bit of touch typing. Like right now I am and I'm making a few mistakes, though not as many as I would of a couple years ago. I think after a while you just learn where everything's at on a keyboard, and you can do a bit of Touch-Typing.

Oh, and one more thing; when I first started to touch-type, it scared me that I could type pretty well without looking at the screen.

I make less mistakes if I'm watching the screen instead of the keyboard, because I can see how it comes out instead of just watching my fingers on the keys. Even if I'm not watching the screen or the keyboard, for some reason I can tell when I hit the wrong key more easily than when I watching my fingers on the keys.


I remember all the attempts at typing lessons I had in elementary and middle school tried to make me not watch my fingers, but I always resisted it until recently. I still do it sometimes out of habit, but it's becoming just as easy not to now.

Same with me! While I find myself looking at the keyboard off and on, over 90% of the time, I only look at the screen while typing.

I used to not be able to do that, but when I learned, I was like... "this is so easy now, why couldn't I do it before!"

I've been able to do this since middle school and I'm all for it. I could not look at my hands while I type, it gives me a migrain.

I make less mistakes if I'm watching the screen instead of the keyboard, because I can see how it comes out instead of just watching my fingers on the keys. Even if I'm not watching the screen or the keyboard, for some reason I can tell when I hit the wrong key more easily than when I watching my fingers on the keys.


I remember all the attempts at typing lessons I had in elementary and middle school tried to make me not watch my fingers, but I always resisted it until recently. I still do it sometimes out of habit, but it's becoming just as easy not to now.

I do that too. I find I make more mistakes touch typing and looking at the keyboard than if I do the screen. I don't really think about touch typing, it just comes naturally. If I think about it, I'm more likely to make a mistake.

I'll then, once I'm finished, come back and edit my mistakes if I've accidently hit another key or something. It's actually not that hard, really, once you have the practice!

If you are writing a novel then why not use the old fashioned pen and paper to do the first draft. I do and find that it is the most enjoyable way of writing (after all it isn't called typing a book is it?).

That said, I do understand what you are getting at, writing with a pen allows you to not think about the process of writing and concentrate on the story in much the same way as touch typing.

Another reason for writing by hand (just as JK did for her early drafts) is that if you become a famous author in the future you can sell your handwritten drafts. It is not like anyone would want to buy a typed first draft - you could print off as many as you want.

I know handwriting is slow but do you think speed is that important when creating something like a novel or book. If JK had rushed SS or Shakespeare had rushed Macbeth do you think they would have been as sublime?

If you are writing a novel then why not use the old fashioned pen and paper to do the first draft. I do and find that it is the most enjoyable way of writing (after all it isn't called typing a book is it?).

By the same token manuscripts are still called that even though


Another reason for writing by hand (just as JK did for her early drafts) is that if you become a famous author in the future you can sell your handwritten drafts. It is not like anyone would erwant to buy a typed first draft - you could print off as many as you want.

There were a lot of writers using typewriters over the years.

Anyway, a true first draft is one that it printed and covered with corrections (it is impossible to do a proper edit on screen).

Many authors hold early drafts for donation to libraries.

I personaly think that the touch-type is one of the best ways to go about writing a story on computer, because if you look at it you constantly want to fix your mistakes. I myself can talk, read, or do something either than watch while I'm typing (while being able to know that I have made a mistake and exactly where I did make a mistake so I can delete and then fix it with no problems!) When I do look at the screen, it seems that I want to get done faster and finish typing, so I get a little nervous and want to fix everything I mess up right away.

I actually prefer looking at the screen rather than my fingers. I can touch-type. I have tried typing while looking at my fingers instead of the screen and I make more mistakes that way.

Writing a novel, now I prefer pen and paper, but I do have to type it up eventually.

I learned to type in high school for a typing course. We were ordered not to watch our hands while typing, but most people did. That was when I learned I'm a freaky typist. :lol:

I have this obsessive thing, apparently, and when I learned how to type I couldn't stop typing. I'd be having conversations with people and in my mind I'd be typing what they were saying: like my fingers would actually be moving as if I were typing out our conversation. Or sometimes I'd just be typing the last sentence they said over and over again.

Suffice it to say I built up a ridiculously fast typing speed and learned to touch-type very quickly. I can't imagine looking at my hands when I write now. lol.

As for writing and reading what I've written, sometimes I'll write quite a bit without going back, other times I'll read and re-read a paragraph to make sure it feels right before I go on. For me it's all about pacing.

I try not to do too much editing as I go. If I can't think of a word for something I'll just type in the closest thing and then I'll highlight it so that I can remember to go back and put in the proper word. If I can't think how I want to describe a scene I'll do the same thing -- then I go back to it later when I am in the right frame of mind to do it. This happens with me every so often, as I'm better at dialogue than I am at describing rooms or landscapes. So I give it a few days and then go back to the previous scenes I've written and add the detail by imagining that I'm looking at something for the first time and am describing it to a blind person.

But touch-typing certainly helps, as it allows me to just get my ideas out first so that I don't forget them. My stories are all built up in my head, but not down to the minutest detail. I know where the plot is going, and how certain scenes are going to go, but most of the in-between stuff is just sort of vaguely sketched out in my mind. So when I write, a lot of it sort of evolves as I'm writing, and comes as inspiration hits me. If I couldn't type fast or touch-type, I'd lose a lot of those ideas because I wouldn't get them out quickly enough.

But I have also taken to carrying around a notebook with me at all times so that I can jot down ideas as they come to me. I have found this to be helpful. I also use the notebook to keep track of certain details so that my facts remain consistent.

I can touch type okay, but when I start to type too fast I make mistakes.

I prefer to type out stories than write by hand, I can type for a lot longer than I can write.

xx

I have to look at my fingers for like the first second to make sure my hands are positioned properly and then I touch type. My friends think it's because i'm freakishly smart that I can do that, but it's really just because I type so much. I have to look at the screen to make sure i don't make too many mistakes and looking at my hands doesn't help too much, but it works a little I guess. Weird....I'm experimenting while typing this and maybe it does help a little....but i prefer looking at the screen anyways. I can do it without looking at the screen or keyboard, but what else am I supposed to look at in a room with nothing interesting in it? :p Unless if i'm typing up an English essay or something and I have to look at the rough draft.

I'm not good a touch-typing... Especially when I write English, it's like all the letters have moved. But I have an ability that makes me able to watch the screen and the keyboard at practically the same time, and avoid making mistakes. Magic, I think it's called. ;)

I say "aye" for touch typing. It is especially useful if you have an idea for a scene in your head and your brain is speeding well ahead, and the only way to keep up with your gray matter is to touch type. Weird, I find looking down at the keyboard gives me fewer mistakes, but I still look at the screen anyway.

I can Touch-Type. I write faster than I type though. I think for some reason it's easier to do when you don't think about what your doing. :whistle:

I can usually touch-type but when I have to use a less used symbol (like a parenthesis) than I find that I look at the keyboard so that I don't make a mistake. I really want to perfect touch-typing because it makes typing easier for me.

I can usually touch-type but when I have to use a less used symbol (like a parenthesis) than I find that I look at the keyboard so that I don't make a mistake. I really want to perfect touch-typing because it makes typing easier for me.

I've been touch-typing for years. I do about 90 wpm. I don't think I could write without that skill. It helps me put out a lot of work.

I'm not good a touch-typing... Especially when I write English, it's like all the letters have moved.

International keyboards move letters around and it's really hard to adjust! - I did a study abroad in Italy that totally screwed up my touch-typing abilities because the letters and punctuations marks were all in different places. :p

I remember watching my mom type as a kid and thinking that it was so amazing that she could touch-type and always always wanted to be able to do it so my first year of college I took a sheet of labels (the kind that you print custom address labels on for your home printer), cut them into little squares and covered all the letters on my keyboard so I couldn't look at the letters on the keyboard as I was typing. I knew I knew where all the letters were, it was just a habit to look down at the keyboard so having the letters covered up forced me to look at the screen to make sure I was typing the correct letters. :D I got a lot of funny looks from friend when they would get on my computer and saw that I had covered up all the letters on my keyboard. :D

Now I can touch-type pretty well. I still glance down at the keyboard every once in a while, especially when I feel like I'm touching two keys at once - which happens a lot when I type C's, V's and B's since I use my left index finger for all those letters, when I type Q's and W's which I use my left ring finger for, and O's and P's which I use my right index finger for... I've tried to break some of my typing habits like that and use the "right" finger (as the the finger typing classes tell you to use to type that letter) but it's such an ingrained habit by this point. I also only use the right shift key (which makes it difficult to speed type and make captial L's, captial M's, captial O's and captial P's, not to mention all the punctuation keys on the right side that I have to look at the keyboard to get right a lot of the time) and only hit the space bar with my right thumb. In fact, I've worn shiny spots on my spacebar and my right shift key from preferencing my right hand for those keys. :D

Now, my typing ability has really taken a turn because I work for 9 hours a day in AutoCAD and use all the keyboard shortcuts for that program. My right hand will be working the mouse and my left hand will be flying all over the keyboard hitting the shortcut buttons. My new constant miss-hit on a key is that I hit F1 (which in CAD brings up the Help window) instead of ESC all the time now, which really slows me down. So I took a page out of my own book and covered the ESC key in the soft, fuzzy part of a Velcro sticker so I would know whether my finger was touching the ESC key or not.

As for writing novels with touch-typing, it's all dependant on how you work. If you type your first draft out and can already touch type than I imagine that it's a no-brainer for you to carry on with what you already can do. I've never written a novel (only fanfic) but I find that touch-typing is a useful skill to have as I can type the scene i'm thinking about out faster and don't have to focus so much on the actual typing. Though it is distracting to see that you've misspelled a word and I always have to stop and go back to fix it before I can carry on which does kill momentum.

I can touch-type easily too but I guess it comes with practice. I started to use a computer when I was six and I've always used it mostly for writing. My favorite pastime as a teenager was to write novels (like 150 pages!) and I'm sure most people would be pretty good at touch-typing after such an intense training! I'm now 26 and I can even type in the dark, my brain has completely memorized the keyboard and my fingers know where to go :-)

When I buy a new computer, however, I do need some time to adjust :the space between keys can vary a bit and the "feeling" is not always the same depending on the kind of keyboard you have (a "Wave keyboard" moves when you type something, a "chiclet keyboard" has keys separated with a little space like on Apple keyboards, etc).

I think it's useful to know how to touch-type because you can get a "global picture" of what you write instead of focusing on spelling each word properly. It's an ability you will learn by typing more and more, faster and faster until the position of keys registers in your memory!