The online courses which are available to help you learn to touch-type

It may seem an absolutely obvious thing to say, but writers use keyboard skills all the time. As part of the revolution in communication introduced by email, we all use the keyboard to keep in touch with one another and business has largely transferred to email mode. But for most writers using the keyboard is the very essence of what they do and being able to use it well will save enormous amounts of time and error.

It doesn't seem like a fashionable idea to suggest that writers should put themselves on a typing course, but it's an immensely practical one. If you're serious about your writing imagine how much easier everything will be if you can touch-type! Not only is it up to ten times faster than using two fingers, but it is also much more accurate. Pecking away at the keys may be a good way to proceed for the occasional short piece of work, but if you're serious about writing a whole book it's worth putting in the time to make the whole exercise much easier - and giving yourself the advantage of being able to touch-type for the rest of your life.

On those secretarial courses that young women used to undertake in the old days, the time taken learning to type was largely devoted to doing exercises in order to achieve breath-taking speeds. But you don't need to be super-fast to benefit from touch-typing.

It's also worth remembering that touch-typing is less stressful for your hands than using two fingers. In an age where intensive keyboard and mouse use threatens repetitive strain injury for many, this is a major consideration.

There are many free or very inexpensive typing course available online. The following is just a small selection. If you're not convinced, have a manuscript which needs typing to make it into a computer file, or a handwritten manuscript, have a look at our Typing service.