When my fingers hurt after too much time on the keyboard, I...
take a break!

What really helped me improve my typing speed is... lots of practice. We had computers in the house in the early 80s, (my father an engineer and my mother did some secretarial work) and by the time i was around 6, I had an Apple IIE computer (or something close to that) in my room. Reader Rabbit... Alf's Geography... helped me learn where the keys were on the keyboard, (no mouse!) so when we got to Home Row typing in third grade, it just came naturally in a sense. This is kind of addicting, so it helps me keep up. I'm going to beat my best at some point!