As a writer sometimes I get so into writing a scene that I look back with my editing hat on and wonder what in the world I was trying to say! I promise you tht I am the o=]wroets typist in the pwprld (the translation: that I am the worst typist in the world)! Some writers tell me that I need to just write and forget about my inner editor, but if I did that consistently, I would just have a bunch of gibberish on the page, and I would have no idea what I had written. Thank goodness for Grammarly the program that corrects my misspelling and grammar as I write. I do wonder how Grammarly figures out from my crummy typing of “pwprld” that it is “world,” but I promise you it does. To understand why I am such a poor typist – come with me back to the summer between my junior and senior year in high school when I was a naïve idiot…
Me: “Boy, I can’t wait for summer. Free to have fun, read, and just do what I want.”
Mom: “You know you need to take the typing course this summer.”
Me: “Typing? Why would I need typing?”
Mom: “Because then you will be able to type your papers and whatever else you need. It’s a very helpful skill to have.”
Me: “Mom, I’m gonna be a physical therapist! I won’t need to type! I’ll have a secretary!”
(Oh yes, I really did think that last part even if I didn’t say it!)
Mom: “Alright, but you will regret it if you don’t know how to type.”
Fateful words indeed – as with all things that mothers tell you – they are always right. I did alright with my papers in school, although I slathered a lot of that white stuff all over my papers to hide my mistakes. I mostly handwrote my daily notes, and for a while, I 
had a secretary that was more than willing to type up letters for me. Ah, but then the advent of the computer era came along. Sigh. My pecking along with one finger was not cutting it. So did I take a typing class? Did I seek out a YouTube course on typing? Of course not, instead I developed a funky two-handed method that I continue to use until today. I have to look at the keyboard to have any speed at all and often, and I mean often, I have to read each line and edit several words that I have goofed up with my homegrown method of typing. It’s embarrassing how much time I spend re-typing and correcting what I write.
However, all is not lost; I have typed up three manuscripts (only one I self-published). I type all my stories now. I type up my blog posts, reports, post on Facebook, etc. and somehow with much editing (and thankfully no more white stuff slathered on the paper) they come out fine. Nonetheless, if any of you are as stubborn as I was as a teenager, I would suggest you take a typing course. The moral of this story is Listen to your mother; they are always right.
How is your typing? Are you fast, or slow like a slug like I am? Comments are welcome.
Chasing The Tale 