Excuses, excuses, excuses--Writers, get back to work!

When a writer pushes his laptop away from him and sighs and sighs, you know immediately that he’s suffering from something. Could it be lack of imagination, the right idea just not germinating in his mind or is it plain laziness?

Lack of imagination: Not always is it plain laziness. Often, you might want to write, but what? That’s what remains elusive to some, particularly newbie, writers. The prescription to this malady is often to look at the same object or title differently, or to take a walk around the block or to write on anything, just anything. But what is anything?

The solution: Years ago, when I forayed into children’s writing, I developed a way out of this problem. When I sat at my desktop, fingers on the keyboard, I randomly tapped any one letter on the keyboard. That letter would then be the first letter of the first word of my story. It worked very well, even when I tapped ‘X.’ All it meant that the first word would be X’mas or Xavier. So, writers can’t sit away from work and expect the idea to come home to them, they’ve got to find innovative ways of finding their own solution.

Writer’s block: One often hears of writers complaining of writer’s block. Literally, it means a temporary inability to write, chiefly because of entering a mentally barren phase—no idea, nothing to say. You know that as a writer you get stuck at some point. So, what do you do? The easiest way out would be to narrate your story to someone and pick their brains. Somewhere in what they say lies your solution. Try it.

Writer’s cramp: This is also referred to as mogigraphia or scrivener's palsy because it causes a cramp or spasm in the hand or fingers and prevents one from writing. So, this is a real problem whose solution lies in reducing the amount of writing you do and taking medical treatment such as TENS. And, you could also do yoga, stretches or physiotherapy. Then, pick yourself up and move on. You’ve got a whole lot of writing to do!!

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: This problem also relates to too much pressure on the wrists, but is highly curable too. Surgery is one option to treat this problem, or you could have your arm tied in a splint at night. Alternatively, don’t use your bad hand, or take frequent breaks, massage your wrists or take painkillers.
Frozen shoulder: Here, you suffer from pain and numbness in the shoulder. The pain could radiate down to the fingers. You should get into a regular exercise schedule for this and within some time, you’re sure to find relief.

Finger and thumb arthritis: This happens when the joint surfaces are eroded. Finger and thumb arthritis is very common because each hand has 27 bones whose joint surfaces are eroded. When this occurs, our normal activities are no longer possible. We suffer from pain, stiffness and numbness in the area. But this is no the end of the world, writers. By eating a balanced diet, exercising, massaging your hands and not smoking or drinking, you can overcome this problem.

So, what are you waiting for? Pull your laptop closer to you and get down to work. Words, ideas and images should spill out onto your page now. Get going!!