Writing Speed/words per minute

Dancre · Aug 11, 2010

Ok, so what's your typing speed: http://www.typingtest.com/testdone....hksum=26268&unit=wpm&kh=54&td=&err=7&hits=330

I was pretty suprised that mine was between 55-60 with around 8 errors. But we're writers, for Pete's sake!!! It kinda slows down when the grammar in the test is incorrect. Wait, that's not right. No, no, don't correct it. Just type. But it's wrong! It doesn't matter. You've wasted 20 seconds correcting it. But . . No, stop!! 36 words per minute?? ARe you serious?? Well, if the peice had correct grammar than . . . . LOL!!

Kateness · Aug 11, 2010

According to that test, 94wpm with two errors turns it into 92wpm.

(To be fair, though, I only did the minute-long test)

Gugland · Aug 11, 2010

I hate that site. The way the words are highlighted as you're typing them makes it really hard to follow. Also, the text is so big and centered on the screen, it's not very realistic.

I scored really low (55wpm after errors). I should be in the low 70s, maybe a little less since I don't type as much lately, being unemployed an' all.

kuwisdelu · Aug 11, 2010

86 wpm.

But I write a helluvalot slower than I can type.

leahzero · Aug 11, 2010

kuwisdelu said:
But I write a helluvalot slower than I can type.

This.

KTC · Aug 11, 2010

83 wpm...but man, when I'm typing my own words I'm WAY FASTER. the test doesn't show how fast I can type...not in the least.

Vorteil · Aug 11, 2010

I got 86wpm on that test, which is faster than I normally am...I'd say over a longer time I'm not any faster than 70. And that's how fast I write, as well--could probably go faster if I typed faster, but my technique is not so beautiful.

semmie · Aug 11, 2010

94wpm.

Susan Coffin · Aug 11, 2010

58 wpm with 3 errors.

Man, some of you are really FAST!

Kateness · Aug 11, 2010

I'd venture a guess that those who are under about 25-30 will tend to have higher typing speeds than those over that.

I'd posit two possible reasons for it.

(1) older people may have learned to type on typewriters, which necessitated pressing a helluva lot harder on the keys which would necessarily slow one down - they may never have grown out of it (case in point, my mother, in her early 50s. She really plunks down on the keys and when she has to use a touchpad, she has to dial the sensitivity of it way back because she's pretty heavy-handed)

(2) Younger people tend to use keyboards real often, often much more than those who are older. We're constantly texting and tweeting (no, I don't do either of those, that much, and I don't mean to disparage any of the rest of people my age), and I know my typing speed only really increased by leaps and bounds when I started transcribing handwritten stuff to computer 6-8 years ago.

Susan Coffin · Aug 11, 2010

Kate,

When my uncle was in the Marines during the Vietnam War, his job was as an assistant to some big wig in the Marines--he typed all of his correspondence and memorandum on a manual typewriter. At that time he typed around 80 wpm, error free.

Man, I could not imagine!!

I work at a computer all day long writing legal-ease, and I still don't have a fast typing speed. Maybe I should practice more.

Becky Black · Aug 12, 2010

Pretty low, around 25 words a minute. Maybe 35 if I don't backspace and correct the more egregious typos as I go. But that's fast enough for me. I've still produced plenty.

Kateness · Aug 12, 2010

SusanL said:
Kate,

When my uncle was in the Marines during the Vietnam War, his job was as an assistant to some big wig in the Marines--he typed all of his correspondence and memorandum on a manual typewriter. At that time he typed around 80 wpm, error free.

Man, I could not imagine!!

I work at a computer all day long writing legal-ease, and I still don't have a fast typing speed. Maybe I should practice more.

Consider me corrected

cscarlet · Aug 12, 2010

72 WPM with one error taken into consideration .... I've tested faster than that, but I haven't tested my typing speed in a while so it was still fun.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 12, 2010

I can type at sixty words per minute error free, and do it for hours. Or I can type a good deal faster with the same errors creeping in regularly. "Teh" for "the", or a ";" when I want a "'".

But I write at an average of eight to ten words per minute. And ten is pushing it. This still gives me 2,500 words during my five hour writing day. That's more than good enough.

Gugland · Aug 13, 2010

Kateness said:
I'd venture a guess that those who are under about 25-30 will tend to have higher typing speeds than those over that.

I'd posit two possible reasons for it.

(1) older people may have learned to type on typewriters, which necessitated pressing a helluva lot harder on the keys which would necessarily slow one down - they may never have grown out of it (case in point, my mother, in her early 50s. She really plunks down on the keys and when she has to use a touchpad, she has to dial the sensitivity of it way back because she's pretty heavy-handed)

(2) Younger people tend to use keyboards real often, often much more than those who are older. We're constantly texting and tweeting (no, I don't do either of those, that much, and I don't mean to disparage any of the rest of people my age), and I know my typing speed only really increased by leaps and bounds when I started transcribing handwritten stuff to computer 6-8 years ago.

You forgot one:

(3) Arthritis.

Dancre · Aug 13, 2010

After a while my arthritis kicks in and my hands ache!! I'm glad I'm not the only one with a 'lower' score. Makes me want to work harder to get a higher speed.

Gugland said:
You forgot one:

(3) Arthritis.

Collectonian · Aug 13, 2010

Interesting...89 wpm, 3 errors, so adjusted of 80 wpm. Considering I was sitting with really bad posture on my sofa hunched over my laptop, not bad at all. I did the 1 minute test after the 3 minute one messed up (text didn't scroll when I got to the bottom). About what I expected...and I'm over 30

(I'd expect I'm not the only one over 30 who had to take at least one semester of keyboarding in high school...and while I drove my teacher to distraction, it did stick

)

Ehab.Ahmed · Aug 14, 2010

I got the same exact result as you, Dancre! Even though I think I could've scored better had the words been my own

It was fun, tho.

SPMiller · Aug 14, 2010

Triple digits, baby.

Doesn't matter much, though. My actual production rate, dividing total words written by minutes spent writing, including all editing/revision/rewriting, varies between 1.5-6.0 word/min, depending on the story. Yeah, I actually keep track of that.

Oh, and I should probably point out I'm a self-taught typist who uses only one finger on his right hand. I'd hate to think how quickly I could type if I used proper technique.

Lost World · Aug 14, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
But I write at an average of eight to ten words per minute. And ten is pushing it. This still gives me 2,500 words during my five hour writing day. That's more than good enough.

That's the important part. I can type 65 WPM, but who cares? It's the amount of words you cogently write per hour that gauges your writing speed, which is what should matter if you're a writer (sorry, but wpm is a statistic best left on a secretary's job application). I write about 6-7 hundred words per hour, slower if I'm struggling and up to 900 if I'm really flying.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 14, 2010

Lost World said:
That's the important part. I can type 65 WPM, but who cares? It's the amount of words you cogently write per hour that gauges your writing speed, which is what should matter if you're a writer (sorry, but wpm is a statistic best left on a secretary's job application). I write about 6-7 hundred words per hour, slower if I'm struggling and up to 900 if I'm really flying.

Some of the most prolific writers I know write in longhand, or can barely type. Nancy Kress is an award-winning writer, has sold something like twenty novels, plus innumerable short stories. . .and she types with one finger.

"Speed kills" often applies to more than drugs and driving.

Lost World · Aug 14, 2010

Definitely so; quality of work must never be sacrificed. However, it is nice to know how fast you generally work, especially if you have a "day job" that allows only minimal time to write.

Writing Speed/words per minute

Just have fun.

Sufficiently downsized

Revolutionize the World

The colors! THE COLORS!

Stand in the Place Where You Live

lost in the mountains

barefooted

Tell it like it Is

Tell it like it Is

Writing my way off the B Ark

AW = Procrastination.

Sufficiently downsized

Just have fun.

Inclined to eclectic eccentricity

Drifting Silently

Prodigiously Hanged

He'll NEVER fit in!

He'll NEVER fit in!