Writing is hard, part I: the physical side of things

I’ve somehow neglected to mention Anne Frasier’s blog in this space (especially as back in the day, her romances — written under her real name, Theresa Weir — were among my favorites, and I’ve had my eye on her current work which is more straight suspense) but she brings up an excellent topic in a recent post about the aches and pains she has endured over years of writing:

after years of sitting in front of the computer, i’ve developed arthritis in my neck and shoulder. not unusual for a writer. it’s taken me several more years to come up with promising strategies for getting around the pain. the biggest thing was to get rid of my desktop. with a laptop, you can change positions throughout the day. stand, sit, lie down, get the keyboard as close as possible. i’m not left-handed, but i learned to use a mouse with my left hand. and i quit using the cap key!! every movement you can eliminate helps. and if you haven’t yet developed problems, take care of yourself now.

I’ve often joked that when Darwin came up with the theory of evolution, he didn’t envision that humans would self-select for aching wrists, bad knees and horrible eyesight, but in truth it really isn’t all that funny….