I am not a typist. In my freshman year of high school, I took a typing class as an elective because it sounded easy, but the instructor ended up asking me to leave before the school year ended. I think it is safe to say that I frustrated him enough that it was either ask me to leave or kill me…I left. (Being killed by your typing teacher is probably # 45 on the list of stupid ways to die.)

It wasn’t that I didn’t like the class; it’s just that I am not coordinated when it comes to using my hands. My grandmother used to say that she hated to watch me do anything that required the use of my hands on a small object. I guess I use them like a toddler…this also goes for my typing. So what’s my point in telling you all this? You don’t have to be a typist to be a writer.

Too many creative writing instructors and basic writing classes laud the importance of typing. They will tell you that, the better typist you are, the better writer you will be…that’s a crock and not the kind you wear if you have absolutely no fashion sense. Would it be handy to type 120 words a minute? Well, of course it would, but that’s not what makes you a writer. In fact, I think it might actually hinder you. Hear me out….

If you are a quick typist you will peck away at the keyboard not really having to think about what you are actually typing. Often times, because I am a hunt and peck person, the slower writing helps me to really look at the work. Due to the fact that I have to make sure that I am hitting the right keys, I often look over what I just wrote more than once…again helping me with the overall process.

So if you are not typing a gazillion words a minute, (a) you are probably doing better work) and (b) hunting and pecking helps in some ways and (c) you’re…uh…normal. (No one who types that fast can be normal) You don’t have to be a typist to be a writer. You have to be a writer to be a writer….duh.

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