OK, I know that I sit at my desk too much and am out of shape in the normal sense, but I found out yesterday that I'm also "out of shape" for writing the way I once did -- with a ballpoint pen in a spiral notebook. As I was helping a family member yesterday, taking her to doctor visits following an accident, I knew that I would be spending a fair amount of time in waiting rooms. Instead of bringing reading material, I decided to bring along novel #6 to work on, since it's been pretty neglected in recent months. After only writing six pages or so, my hand was hurting!

I've never held my pen "properly," but back when I had -- and used -- lots of time for writing (without a computer), my hands had adapted so I could write many hours without pain. If I had more time for writing, I might be able to "get back in shape" that way, but I don't see that happening anytime soon, unfortunately.

Still, pain aside, it was good to get some writing done in that novel and to move the story forward, with some significant character development. Someday I might even finish that book!