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Writing and Comfort

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
I'm at that stage of life where writing is difficult. It's uncomfortable, stressful, even painful.

Unless I'm wearing sweat pants. <g>
 
I once was at that stage where writing was a devil-may-care endeavor. It came to mind fast and flowed to pen fast. More likely to keyboard fast. I knew what I wanted to write, and I wrote it. No other thoughts given.

Now I'm less charmed by everything, and writing is like trying to revive a corpse with nothing but a scalpal in my hand. Well, mentally it's like this.

As for physical comfort, my arms and hands and fingers can go numb quickly--or else, start aching quickly. Which is just as well. See above.
 

Chasejxyz

Inkling
Writing was Not Good for me for a really long time, but that was because I was un/under medicated for a lot of things and my life was just not in a good place. It also didn't help that I was comparing myself to others and everything I made didn't feel good enough. But once I stopped writing with the aim of every word being perfect to writing what was fun and made me happy, then everything shifted and worked out.

Also ergonomics is important :p f.lux and a dimmer light bulb and windows hades do a lot, as well as being able to move to different parts of the apartment.
 

Mad Swede

Auror
You mean your editor wants changes? ;) I get into ruts like that occasionally, and it's usually when I'm writing the last bits of text in a novel or making changes at my editor's request. I find it fairly easy to write the main scenes and most of the dialogue but those last bits, the scenery and surroundings, all the details, they seem to take forever.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
There are most definitely psychological aspects to writing "comfortably". I was speaking more to the physical aspects. The same goes for reading. Used to be I could read for hours, but increasingly both my eyes and my body wear out early. The first manifestation of this isn't so much physical discomfort as it is a loss of concentration.

With writing it's more about the hands. The arthritis kicks up. Knuckles ache. Close behind (*ahem*) is my posterior, which starts to protest after only an hour or two of sitting, regardless of what sort of chair I'm in.

This has real consequences. To make genuine progress on any particular day, I do best at about three or four hours. But my body has trouble making it that far. So just as I should be gathering steam, my brain is starting to falter and wander. Word of advice to all you youngsters out there: get back to work! <g>
 

Mad Swede

Auror
There are most definitely psychological aspects to writing "comfortably". I was speaking more to the physical aspects. The same goes for reading. Used to be I could read for hours, but increasingly both my eyes and my body wear out early. The first manifestation of this isn't so much physical discomfort as it is a loss of concentration.

With writing it's more about the hands. The arthritis kicks up. Knuckles ache. Close behind (*ahem*) is my posterior, which starts to protest after only an hour or two of sitting, regardless of what sort of chair I'm in.

This has real consequences. To make genuine progress on any particular day, I do best at about three or four hours. But my body has trouble making it that far. So just as I should be gathering steam, my brain is starting to falter and wander. Word of advice to all you youngsters out there: get back to work! <g>
I spent quite a lot of momey on a really good desk chair, a good desk with height adjustment, an extremely good computer monitor and a docking station for my laptop. They all make a huge difference to physical comfort. But, I also don't sit writing for more than about 40 minutes at a time. I get up, walk around, look at something else, all to give my eyes and the rest of me a bit of downtime. Sometimes I'll even raise the desk right up and stand whilst writing.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
That is the right way to do it, all right. I don't have a standing desk, but I've a good chair, monitor etc.

Breaks are difficult to take because I have two dogs who wait for any sign that I am done, whereupon it's playtime and walkies. My trade-off is to switch between writing with pen and ink, and writing at the keyboard. Still and all, I pine for the days when I could lie on my stomach on the floor and write, drape a leg over a chair and write, and generally not be troubled by aches and pains. </whine>
 
Maybe try dictation. Apparently it takes some getting used to (similar to how you had to learn how to use a keyboard). But many people prefer it once they do since you remove a lot of the comfort issues and you can do it everywhere, even when walking the dogs :)
 

Mad Swede

Auror
That is the right way to do it, all right. I don't have a standing desk, but I've a good chair, monitor etc.

Breaks are difficult to take because I have two dogs who wait for any sign that I am done, whereupon it's playtime and walkies. My trade-off is to switch between writing with pen and ink, and writing at the keyboard. Still and all, I pine for the days when I could lie on my stomach on the floor and write, drape a leg over a chair and write, and generally not be troubled by aches and pains. </whine>
Having spent some of my professional career reading and writing plans and orders whilst standing, lying flat on the ground, crouching behind a rock, being bounced around in an APC, contour flying in a helicopter or sitting in the back of a C-130 I can honestly say that I don't miss writing like that at all.

There's a lot to be said for treating your writing like the profession it is (said to be), because if you're going (or hoping) to write full time then you need to think about your working environment. It's not just your chair or your desk or when you take breaks, it's about how the room is arranged and how it's lit. There are no prizes for not being able to write because your back hurts too much from your poor posture.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
I'm not intending to write full time. I'm 70 years old and retired, so while this isn't quite a hobby it is also not a profession. English could really use a word for that. More than an avocation, for I do try to sell my books, but my financial goals at present are merely to break even.

As far as comfort goes, I would like my body to keep up with my brain. That, alas, is a losing proposition. I think it probably always was (more imagination than stamina), but when younger one can ignore the creeping discomfort for longer.
 

Mad Swede

Auror
I'm not intending to write full time. I'm 70 years old and retired, so while this isn't quite a hobby it is also not a profession. English could really use a word for that. More than an avocation, for I do try to sell my books, but my financial goals at present are merely to break even.
Except that if you're writing 3-4 hours per day then you're talking about working 50% of a full time job. Even if you don't write every day writing sessions of that length are still enough to justify investing in your working environment.

As far as comfort goes, I would like my body to keep up with my brain. That, alas, is a losing proposition. I think it probably always was (more imagination than stamina), but when younger one can ignore the creeping discomfort for longer.
Younger people can often ignore the consequences of poor posture etc because their bodies recover much faster. As you've discovered, that isn't true when you get older. You can help your body keep up with your brain, but it needs a good working environment.
 
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