Hey Writer: Get Yourself a Proper Keyboard!

Your ears and fingers will thank you

Photo taken by the author.

Ah, the humble keyboard. Perhaps the world’s most overlooked writing tool. You might think of it as just that thing attached to your laptop, or computer, or as the lower third of your phone screen…but it can be so much more.

Would you begrudge a person with beautiful handwriting who liked to use a fancy pen and stylish paper? No? So why aren’t you paying more attention to that plastic slab you’re hammering away on every day?

I spent several years online reviewing gaming keyboards, hanging out by my own choice in the most divisive corner of the hobby, writing opinions mostly for myself and a couple of other dudes. Gaming peripherals are an explosive growth play centered around a features-focused market. They’re all about cramming in as many new gizmos and magnets as possible while promising that you’ve got the fastest thing around. “True” keyboard enthusiasts love to hate them, and the bigger reviewers are so well-established in the space that I never hoped to make any real inroads. I was just chasing my own curiosity.

Gaming models come in all different shapes and sizes, adorned with lights or gamer-accents in a desperate attempt to make them look cool, and they have big marketing spends to get them eyeballs, particularly around this…