Okay, there’s no real shortcut to writing, per se. Writing requires you sit down, collect your thoughts, organize them, and turn them into text.

But as a writer, I sometimes wonder what button or link I inadvertently touched that made my computer do something wacky and unexpected.

Then I realize my knowledge of a set of shortcuts on the keyboard may help me get out this mess. These shortcuts may not be known to other writers, so I share them here.

CONTROL Z. If you hold down your control key and hit the Z key, you will UNDO whatever it was that just happened.

Here’s a whole list of shortcuts. How many do you know?

Control A = Select all.

Control B = Bold.

Control C = Copy.

Control I = Italics.

Control P = Print.

Control T = Open new Tab in your browser.

Control U = Underline.

Control V = Paste.

Control X = Cut.

Control Z = Undo.

If you use a Mac, these short cuts are virtually identical – just substitute the Command key for Control and you’re good to go.

Do you know any other keyboard shortcuts that would help writers on their computers? Please share.