Try to find a middle ground for speed. You don't want to exert yourself too much, or you'll burn out. You also don't want to go at a snail's pace because... idk, nobody likes low WPM. Once you find a middle ground, you will become more consistent with accuracy and speed. Naturally, you will speed up as your muscle memory develops.

Focus on accuracy, and speed will follow. The instant death typing test is a great way to practice your accuracy :)

People keep saying focus on accuracy, but what is that? Type each word with speed, but make sure you type the whole word, rather than just feel the shape of it. You can practice this one keystroke at a time and build speed. Good luck. :)

I was able to type 76 wpm on a short sentence but I can only type around 50 wpm on a paragraph so I was wondering how do some of you all maintain a speed while typing?

That's just a roundabout way of saying to focus on accuracy. Of course nobody's going to artificially lower their speed with no benefit.

I too can type certain sentences 125 wpm but most paragraphs I type at 66 wpm. That's because the paragraphs are longer and contain more words and letters we aren't that great at. Let me share something that has REALLY helped me... Get a piece of paper and write the alphabet one letter on each line. On this site go to the lessons section and practice the individual letters that arent words, just letters. I think there's 7 different choices there to practice. The first one focuses on asdfjkl; type as fast as you can and still be accurate. Every time you miss a letter make a tally mark next to that letter on your sheet of paper. You'll start to see what letters you miss often. Next make flash cards on index cards with one letter on each index card. Make a card for each of your letters you miss often. Each day you go to practice get one of those cards and put it in front of you for that day. I call it "The letter of the day" For example I miss K alot in those exercises that have us type the individual letters, not words. If K is my letter of the day I go to various typing sites and practice different exercises and tests each day. Every time I see a K I really emphasize that letter when I type it. I say the letter in my mind and type it firmly every time I have a word with that letter in it. The next day I pick another letter of the day and do the same thing all day with that letter. You will notice yourself not missing that letter as much in future practice sessions. It really helps your accuracy which in turn helps increase your speed... Try it.

Well it is totally natural to be able to hit higher speeds for short sentences. I can regularly hit 120+ in the first sentence or two or a quote, but my average is around 80. I don't have any spectacular advice really, but you won't be able to type 70+ words per minute until you can max out at around 90 or so, at least that was what it was like for me.