Keep your nerve for NaNoWriMo : how to avoid wrist pain !
Posted by HED in software
November is the month of NaNoWriMo. But for our wrists and fingers, it's more like National RSI Month. You will be typing at home, in the train, while eating your Thanksgiving dinner... You see my point.
How do you prevent your hands from melting ? Here are a few tips.
Get Workrave
Workrave is a freeware timer which will prompt you to take breaks and stretch your body from time to time. Your mouse and keyboard will be blocked so you WILL have to move away.
Protect your hands with wrist braces
It will keep your wrists warm and ease the pressure. Ergonomic wrist braces are the best but give you . If you're broke, tennis wrist bands are cheaper but less effective, of course.
Learn stretching exercises
Workrave gives you a few basic stretching exercises to do but here's a few more for you to learn.
Keep your posture okay
- Don't write in the bed ! Writing in the bed encourages weird typing positions. Get a desk and a chair if you want to write without hurting yourself.
- Don't sleep with your hands under your pillow, under your head or under your body. And for NaNo's sake, please stop cuddling teddy bears all night long. It's bad for your hands.
If everything fails : stop writing !
Kidding ! I know nothing will stop you from writing. But you don't have to type, really. Three solutions :
- Use voice recognition software like Dragon Naturally Speaking.
- Record your novel and use online transcription services to type it.
- Write your novel longhand and outsource the typing (hire a student, contact your old friend secretary, outsource to India...)
