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McAnally's (The Community Pub) => Author Craft => Topic started by: blgarver on February 13, 2007, 04:18:36 PM
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Does anyone else have the problem of getting thrown off their writing groove by physical discomfort from sitting so long?
If I sit for 4 or 5 hours my back starts to hurt, and my legs get all stiff, and then my mind starts to get distracted from the story. My mind is still into it, hasn't hit writer's block or anything like that. It just starts to address the physical pain and eventually I just have to stop because of the discomfort. Not that it's really painful or anything, just enough so that my brain switches priorities.
It's this way with reading, too. I can only read for a couple of hours tops before my eyes start to hurt and my neck gets a cramp.
Anyone have this happen, or have any home remedies/preventions for it?
BLG
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Sounds like you've got an ergonomic problem (at least when writing.) You need to check out your work station. Here's how it should work, from the mouth of a career paralegal and now professional writer (so I've spent a LOT of time at the keyboard for the past 25 years):
1. When seated at your desktop or laptop, your feet should sit flat on the floor without either pressing your knees UP or dangling loose. Don't cross your legs, rest them on a step stool or tuck them behind the legs of your chair.
2. The monitor should be positioned so that when you look straight ahead, with your head and neck in a normal position, the MIDDLE of the screen should be directly in the center of your vision. That probably means (as it does for most desktop set-ups) that you'll need to raise up your monitor. I have mine sitting on bricks to achieve this. If you have to lower your eyes, you'll also be lowering your chin and causing strain on your shoulder muscles over the course of several hours.
3. Your keyboard should be positioned so that when you sit normally and bend your arms at the elbow, the keys are directly below your fingertips. Again, you'll probably need to raise or lower your keyboard--depending on the table/desk it's on.
If using a laptop, consider buying an external, plug-in keyboard so you can raise the height of the monitor. That's usually the biggest strain on your neck and shoulders.
If you mouse a lot without actually typing (when researching, etc.) move the mouse and pad to your lap instead of holding your arm at an unnatural angle. It takes a little getting used to, but you'll find it really allows you to spend more time at the screen.
Hope that helps and good luck! :)
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Good advice.
I do write on my laptop. The issue is that I can't write at home. For whatever reason, the energy just isn't right. I've tried to arrange my desk different ways, decorate it to create an atmosphere, but nothing seems to work. I think it's because home is where I relax and veg out, not work.
So I write at Borders Bookstore, or Perkin's Restaraunt...and occassionally at Starbucks. So I'm pretty much stuck with the hight of whatever table I'm sitting at.
I know part of the problem is the chairs at Borders are wood with no cushions; very uncomfortable after a few hours. But I really like the energy in that place. Books all around, most of the people are in there to do some sort of thinking or cultivating of the mind...so there's good creative energy flying all over the place.
I guess I'll just have to tough it out and work int 4-5 hour spurts. That's about all I have anyway, since I write after I get off work at 5, and Borders closes at 10 on weekdays. But on weekends I usually get there around noon and settle in for a good 8-12 hour run.
If I can have someone come with me to watch my laptop, I usually take a break and mingle the store for fifteen minutes or so, and that helps work out the kinks in my back. But I'm very picky about who's sitting with me while I'm writing.
Anyway, thanks for the tips. I'll use them at home, at any rate.
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Another suggestion...kneeling chairs.
I'm currently trying to get one for the office, but I have to jump through corporate hoops to do so.
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I hate corporate stuff.
What are kneeling chairs exactly?
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I have developed arthritis and tendinitis so ya, physical strain is an issue. I basically just put in whatever I can for the day and look at it as, it's better than nothing. (Well and I've got physical therapy going which hopefully will make things better in time.)
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Aside from trying to keep good posture in a chair, I also find I move around a lot while writing. Odd, but true. I know one of the biggest pieces of advice for getting writing done is to keep your butt in the chair, but I just tend to get a nervous energy once I've got a story flowing. I write in piecemeal, adding a paragraph here, a section of dialogue there, until it all connects and makes a scene or a chapter. In between, I tend to get up, pace, go look out the window, and generally drive anyone around me to distraction. Sometimes I do some stretching while thinking through a character's next action. This helps cut down on any soreness or tension I get while sitting in one spot for a while. Plus, I'm at a desk all day at work, and even then I often need to hop up and take a lap around the building sometimes.
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I sit in my lazy boy with my laptop, very nice. My dog is very cozy also. My biggest issue is drinking a soda or tea or something and then having to go to the bathroom. Maybe I'll put the lazy boy cushion on the toilet! Eureka! ;D
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I spend pretty much the entirety of every working day sitting in front of a monitor, so I write on my laptop lying down in bed. It seems to work OK.
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I've tried the bed thing before, and it almost works. I think the energy is right because it's my room, my space, but then my back gets to hurting being propped up in bed like that.
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My bed is for sleeping. If I tried to write in my bed, I would be snoring before I got to the second paragraph. That's the only downside to a really comfy spot...it can be too comfy.
www.jrvogt.com
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Think I have similar problems sometimes of physical strain and moving around. Usually I take a short 5 minute break and stand or stretch and it seems to help generally. I get nervous energy sometimes when I'm in "the flow" and my story seems to progress smoothly but I generally fight through it cause hopping around ain't gonna get my story written. My main problem is when I run out of ideas and get stuck I start thonking so hard of something to write I think I can feel my brain actually sweating. Geez. Anyway man, good luck.
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* Take a five minute break and stretch every hour that I'm at the computer.
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I've tried the bed thing before, and it almost works. I think the energy is right because it's my room, my space, but then my back gets to hurting being propped up in bed like that.
Not meaning to get overly personal here, but what position are you lying in ?
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I hate corporate stuff.
What are kneeling chairs exactly?
They have no backrest, and use the body's natural balance between your tail and knees to support your weight. A kneeling chair: http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=170712&Ntt=ergonomic%20chair&uniqueSearchFlag=true&An=text (http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=170712&Ntt=ergonomic%20chair&uniqueSearchFlag=true&An=text)
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* Take a five minute break and stretch every hour that I'm at the computer.
+1 problem solved. I'm a software developer and spend TONS of time on a computer. Take periodic breaks or your body will make you regret it.
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* Take a five minute break and stretch every hour that I'm at the computer.
+1 problem solved. I'm a software developer and spend TONS of time on a computer. Take periodic breaks or your body will make you regret it.
On the other hand, if you're the kind of person for whom four hours straight are about sixteen times as productive as four chunks of an hour each, there can be compelling reason not to take those breaks.
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* Take a five minute break and stretch every hour that I'm at the computer.
+1 problem solved. I'm a software developer and spend TONS of time on a computer. Take periodic breaks or your body will make you regret it.
On the other hand, if you're the kind of person for whom four hours straight are about sixteen times as productive as four chunks of an hour each, there can be compelling reason not to take those breaks.
After watching my father go through five surgeries in the past two years on both arms and his back, it's not that compelling, trust me. It's really not that disruptive to stand up and go get a drink and stretch in the process. Also if you're experiencing physical pain it would seem to me that that would be more disruptive to concentration than the time it takes to stand up and stretch.
There are also useful things you can do such as stretching exercises for the hands/wrists/back etc when you're not at the computer or when you stop to think for a second that can really help. Personally I've discovered playing guitar works wonders for my writsts/hands as the muscle usage/stretching provides the perfect offset for what you do while working on the comuter.
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I've tried the bed thing before, and it almost works. I think the energy is right because it's my room, my space, but then my back gets to hurting being propped up in bed like that.
Not meaning to get overly personal here, but what position are you lying in ?
lol...just a sitting position, with my legs stretched out and my back against the wall. Much like Jim Butcher's position in that great writing cave photo that's floating around here someplace.
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There are lots of times where I've gone on a long writing stint, and not always in the most ergonomical conditions. One of the reasons I like having a wireless keyboard or writing on my laptop is I can switch to a lot of different positions and often if need be. Also I find that if I spend too much time writing with out moving away from the screen the quality goes down noticeably, so I make myself take breaks (walk the dog, make a snack, run an errand) usually come back a little fresher and I've taken some time to do the mental work of writing during my break so that hopefully I actually have something to write. I also find that I get better output if I only write for one or two hours at a time, when I do this I usually try to schedule it out so that I have at least an hour every day to write.
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Taking a five minute break isn't disruptive to the writing process (at least not for me anyway). Sometimes it actually helps in that I'm not just sitting at a computer concentrating on what to think of next. Also it's good to maybe keep a little note pad handy in case any new ideas pop into your head during break time so you don't forget them. A little relaxation helps the creative process a lot
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Or a lot of cell phones these days have a voice recording feature and you can make quick little memoes to yourself with that. I like that cause I get to start each recording with "Memo to self..."
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Hmmm. Gonna have to get a cell phone with that feature so I can say "memo to self"...
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The biggest injury I've suffered from with writing has been hand/wrist strain, and as others have said, that's largely due to a bad ergonomic set-up and not taking breaks to stretch and rest. I used to think all of that was a hassle, but then I had to go to hand therapy for 6 months. There I realized my hands are my livelihood, and little concessions are really worth it in the long run.