The RSI in my hands and forearms got worse.Dang girl. Four weeks! That kind of freaks me out...a lot. As you know, I rewrote my book on paper. Now I'm typing it in. (I'm at 82 computer doc pages btw). Lemme tell ya that it hurts. Typing this much sucks. Writing hurts no matter what I do though. Type. Write on paper. Its just straight up painful. And I haven't been doing this all that long. So I wonder, will I have to take four weeks off someday? Go to physical therapy?
I took four weeks off from the computer entirely. I have reorganised my computer setup. I’ve been doing a vast amount of physical therapy. I’m improving. Slowly and frustratingly but surely.
It wouldn't surprise me, but its not something to worry about, since its probably inevitable. In an effort to slow down the process, I always:
1) Put pot butter on my wrists before and after writing (before you get all offended, its pot cocoa butter, like a massage oil and does not have any...mental side effects). It calms my wrists down quite nicely.
2) Wear supportive wrist bands/guards. I wear both when I'm typing. Just the right one when I'm working by hand.
3) Use an ergonomic keyboard.
4) Keep my chair at the right height so that my arms are mostly bent at a ninety degree angle.
It just doesn't seem to be enough though. I'm on the computer probably...eight hours a day, and that is being pretty conservative. At night, I'm still in pain.
Are you plagued by wrist pain? What do you do to prevent it and heal it?
And, don't you just love Liar? I totally can't wait to read the anthology of YA short stories that she and Holly Black (author of Spiderwick) edited called Zombies v Unicorns. Plus, did you know that Justine is married to Scott Westerfield, author of the Uglies trilogy? Oh yes, what a good fangirl I am. Indeed.
you da real deal, writer girl!
ReplyDeleteAloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
I wish I could spend that much time at a computer....but then again, maybe I don't after reading this.
ReplyDeleteWhile I've never read that two famous writers were married to each other as in this case, I've read some other author bios where the author was married to another writer, just one people aren't familiar with. It's really cool, either way, though.
I've never heard of LIAR. I'll have to check it out now. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI should start doing more to take care of my wrists since I seem to be typing most waking hours of my day.
ReplyDeleteFantastic book. I have carpal tunnel big time and my only remedies are to either take a long break also, or to fight through the pain.
ReplyDeleteYep, computer pain can really slow you down. You can also try setting a timer. Every hour, stop and spend 5 to 10 minutes walking and stretching your wrists, neck, and shoulders. The pain doesn't just come from our wrists and hands. A lot of it comes from scrunching up our shoulders for hours and tensing our necks. Thanks for the book recommendation. I've read each one that you've shared. "Looking For Alaska" was a great coming of age read.
ReplyDelete@Cloudia thanks girl
ReplyDelete@Jadi for sure I'm both blessed and cursed! I can't imagine being married to a writer. My husband is the strong and steady one, and I'm the crazy artist. But I guess not all artists are crazy. Jealous much.
@Quinn check it out!
@ Charles and Candyland I just bought an ice pack and that seems to help in the evenings
@Jackie More recommendations coming up and thanks for the tip. I can usually do that when I'm editing, but when I'm writing...I'm in a whole other world.