Can't jump across pillars

[Margaret]

I'm in the part of the cistern where you have to jump from one broken pillar to the next, and I just can't get it right. I keep missing the pillars and falling into the water. The problem is probably that my co-ordination with the W key and space bar isn't good (I don't suppose the developers expected oldies to play this game). Can anyone give me any hints? Otherwise I'll just have to give up on the game, which I really don't want to do.