Writer's Elbow

It seems to be one of the common ailments of November. That and eye strain. I for one am on a computer most of the day and usually rest my eyes at night. But, not during November. Other ailments are wrist problems, friends and family thinking you are crazy or worse, trying to give you ideas. This is called "I'm not gonna write a novel, I think you're crazy for doing this but...I have an idea for your novel" syndrom. A very annoying one if you ask me. Also, neck and shoulder strains are common. Hang in there. Oh and as to the writer's elbow, try an ace bandage or one of those braces you can buy at the pharmacy.

I think I'm getting a bit of eye strain but when my husband asked was I overdoing it last night (I had a headache) I replied, "No, I think it's the vodka." One of our sons came over yesterday and the boys winterized the RV and went for a boat ride and I wrote for the time they weren't around. But then we had dinner and I socialized and had a couple drinks and ran into problems but persevered and was over my target for the day.

I have wrist problems that invariably flare by the third day.

I sleep in wrist braces so my wrists don't move around during the night and the muscles really relax.

A couple of times a day, I rub both wrists with a few drops of birch essential oil to promote good blood flow. The fact that it also gives me the faint scent of woods is a bonus to my scene-setting.

Oh...your word count is indeed strong!

I'm very fortunate to have a wireless keyboard and it reduces stress a thousand fold. I prop myself up on my kingsize bed in front of a roaring fireplace (of gas logs ;>)). I have one of the wrap around back support pillows with cushioned arms. Good support! Then, I enlarge the words on my PC screen by at least 400% so I can clearly see my typing from eight feet away, and I get a lot done. Also my wireless keyboard is an ergonomincally designed to reduce strain. My flat laptop is NOT conducive to long term writing. Too much stress....totally unnatural demand placed on fingers, wrist, back, etc.

I have a desktop PC too, but I really like to set up a comfortable, supportive environment that minimizes repetitive stress, rather than sitting for long periods in a traditional office chair. Not good position to assume for very long.
I'm pretty sure that working strategically with the wireless keyboard and good back support is facilitating a better writing speed as well.

Run out to Walmart or Radio Shack and see what the best deal is they can make on a curved keyboard.

Also a wireless mouse is great too.

Good luck. Don't give up!!!!

I use Dragon Natural Speaking. Voice to text is the ultimate cure for writing ailments

Yes I am using Dragon as well. I would recommend that anyone invest in this software. I combine that with traditional typing to break up the monotony (also I feel stupid talking out loud when family members are home, and it also stifles my creativity to think other people are listening0. BUt it is astounding how fast and effortless the words pop up on the screen with Dragon. Also allows some different "writing" techniques by utilizing different thought processes, or at least it seems that way to me. (Maybe just a placebo effect...)

I don't get bad computer-related problems because I write longhand first and then type it in later (I know- insane, right?), but the longhand often messes up my hands and forearms (especially if I get a word surge like I did this time- 13K in 3 days). Yoga stretching helps; also anti-carpal tunnel exercises. And the purple bar makes everything better!

I use MacSpeech Dictate, the Mac version of the Dragon software. After the 2007 NaNo left me stiffened into an agonized pretzel shape, it seemed like a sensible investment.

(Though many consecutive 5k days have left me a little hoarse...whoops!)