I have learned over the years that if you don't write fast/ignore hand cramps, you won't finish the 5 paragraph DBQ in the 40 minutes you are allotted.
However, if I write (Like right now) after not having to written for like a whole month, its usually a bit of (as I call it) " Chicken Scratch." However, if I want to write REALLY neat, I spend a long time hunched over the paper, pressing hard, and carefully crafting the letters. Like today I had to design a patch, my hand hurt so bad.
typewriters are pretty much the opposite of smooth
I disagree with that. If you clean up a typewriter and put some 3-In-One oil in it, they move like clockwork. It is magnificent to see old machinery like that move so nicely.