When I purchased an iPad I figured it would encourage me to write more often. That hasn’t been the case in the first couple of months of ownership because, as good as the onscreen keyboard is, it’s still too frustrating to write more than a sentence or two.
If the iPhone’s onscreen keyboard is too small the iPad’s is too large. I make fewer typing mistakes on the iPad, but it comes at the cost of speed. With the iPhone I felt as though my typing speed and accuracy improved the more I used it. That’s not been the case with the iPad where no improvement in either area has been made.
I held off on purchasing a Bluetooth keyboard from Apple because I didn’t want to turn my iPad into a laptop with removable screen.
But I wanted to write more, and that wasn’t happening. So here I am typing out my thoughts on a new Apple Bluetooth keyboard and loving it.
I learned to type in 7th grade, but I didn’t learn to write until I was living in Germany. For the first time, I had to write instead of picking up a phone to share my experiences with my family and friends. More importantly, I learned to share how I felt through writing.
Back then, an idea would hit, and I’d grab a notebook and jot it down. Today, I reach for my keyboard when the same thing happens.
It’s not easy to explain, but my keyboard works at the same speed as my mind. I’m able to capture my thoughts through my fingers, and it all happens at the right pace. I’ve read about experienced writers who began using a typewriter and couldn’t migrate to a computer for the same reason.
I’m not an experienced writer, but I can’t imagine moving away from a keyboard to a more modern technology such as voice recognition to capture my thoughts.
Could it be the most important skill I learned in school was how to type?
