Monday, May 9, 2011

Writing Roadblocks

I'm a writer. In a good week, I spend 20-30 hours a week working on my novel, blogging, and connecting with writers and friends on Twitter. Editing is done by hand, but everything else is computer work.

For my day job, I work at a library. I spend 40 hours a week handling heavy books and (yet again) working on a computer.

There's little wonder that I've developed Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) in my right hand. It's not carpal tunnel, if you're wondering--but it's very similar. Some weeks my wrist hardly bothers me at all, and others... Well, Aspercreme is one of my favorite inventions ever.

My RSI has flared up since I returned from England. I can't avoid the computer work at the library, and I have to keep working on my edits. That means the only place I can really cut back is with blogging and tweeting. I'm scheduling blog posts out through the end of May, and starting next week I'll be very circumspect with the time I spend on Twitter.

I'll still be replying to comments here and checking my email daily. I can't cut myself off from the world completely, and I don't know if I would even want to. However, I know that if I want to get my book out on time I need to take care of myself now.

Does anyone else have something similar that gets in the way of their writing plans? It would be nice to know I'm not alone.