Keybaords: I don't use mechanical any more.
I write, as my primary pastime. I write every day. I write novels. You would think that while writing novels, I would want the best keyboard I could get. Over the years I have accumulated an Ergo-Dox, more than one Poker, a buckling spring and about three Ducky keyboards. But, right now, while working on my 4th novel, I type this on a ‘Logitech MX Keys Mini.’ A Bluetooth, wireless keyboard with scissor switches. I have all these keyboards and the one I use is one that I would have pointed and laughed at two years ago.
The thing is, the thing that no one talks about, is that enthusiasts don’t really use the tools they are enthusiastic about that much. And, while this isn’t always true, it’s a pretty good bet that the guy on Reddit with the dope keyboard probably, mostly, doesn’t type very much. I know this, because key fatigue is a real thing and none of them are talking about it.
I firmly and honestly believe that the best button ever designed is the one you find on the standard buckling spring keyboard. Each press is a cacophony of mechanical sensations, and the final climactic click is, well, borderline sexual in satisfaction levels.
The thing is, when you type on it for an hour, you forget this and it's just a tool. Then when you type for three hours, it’s still a nice tool, but the excitement fades. I have, more than once, actually most Saturdays, spent between six and eight hours typing. Nothing else. Just typing. Because that’s what I like to do.
When you type on a mechanical keyboard, especially the orgasmic buckling spring, there is a sensation you may encounter that is simply fatigue. I feels like your little digits are clumsy hammers and each press becomes heavier feeling. You feel, though your typing speed hasn’t slowed, that you are now clumsy and automatic. It is a nasty feeling and the only way to overcome it is to wiggle your fingies and go do something else, because, if you keep going the hand cramps will set-in and that’s a rather nasty experience.
Key fatigue will happen no matter what keyboard you use… eventually. That’s just how humans work. Also, the more often you type, the longer you will probably go before it sets in.
Many people who spend a lot of time at a keyboard will tell you they have never encountered it. That’s because, a programmer, web surfer, tinkerer or other such keyboard experts will spend a lot of time AT the keyboard, but it will all be bursts and flurries that get tapped out. Only the elusive writer will type words from their brain into the keyboard pretty much nonstop for hours.
The writer doesn’t type sprints or bursts. Every session is a marathon. The mechanical keyboard, while satisfying to type on, requires more downward motion, heavier strokes, and greater lift than any scissor switch.
Before I switched to my MX Keys Mini, I was on the Logitech low-profile mechanical keyboard. I noticed then that it caused less fatigue than my ‘buckler’ but it was only when I picked up an MX Keys Mini that I suddenly felt that lightbulb moment and realised, actually, this was a thing!
While each individual stroke of the mini is less squeal inducing than any mechanical board, the reduced motion and force means that I feel like a wizard dancing across the caps. For me, at least, while each key stroke is less exciting, it’s a better tool. Since having it, I have not yet encountered that fatigued feeling. It will happen, if I type long enough, that’s a certainty. The fatigue point, however, lies at least somewhat beyond my marathon length.
When I first started thinking of myself as a writer, I wondered why most professional writers didn’t have stronger opinions about keyboards. I didn’t dare think that I knew better than them - I would not for a moment allow myself such arrogance. I pondered it though.
Now, a few novels in, and at least two keyboard changes under my belt, I have cracked the code. Writers don’t think about it. They don’t have to. Most writers use laptops. Most modern laptops have very serviceable keyboards. Most writers even used Mac’s for reasons I now actually do understand (different topic, another blog perhaps.) If you use a Mac, you will get accustomed to the Mac keyboard, and they will all have a similar feeling board. The laptop keyboard as a whole, is basically “fine.”
People will argue this point. Honestly, they will. But that’s because their criteria is different. Gamers want travel and tactility. I want something that I can type on for hours and I don’t much care about anything else. The keyboard on my laptop is familiar and reliable. I’m happy enough to use it. Sure there are bad laptop keyboards but a little research and you’ll easily find something useable when you buy one next.
Given that most writers only care about writing, the tool is secondary, as long as it works. A better keyboard does not make you a better writer. That’s why they don’t give a shit.
I’ll likely not purchase another mechanical board. Not because they are bad, but because they no longer fit my requirements. Honestly, I wouldn’t even be totally shocked if I’m on an apple magic keyboard one day.
Bonus thought.
My whole setup has got simpler because of requirements. I once had a gaming PC next to my feet. Now I have an eGPU I never turn on and an XPS 13 that I never turn off. I used to be a technology enthusiast. Now I just run windows and load Word. Because anything that isn’t writing is a distraction from writing.
