Writing is Really Painful! (Like, literally.)

Back pain, summer plans, and tons of writing resources

*For writing news and resources, scroll down*

Ya’ll, I’m Getting Old

Here’s how I know:

1. These new gray hairs I keep noticing.

2. My resistance to getting on Tik-Tok.

3. The excruciating neck, back, and shoulder pain I’ve been having basically every time I sit down to write.

Let’s talk about that last one. In fact, why is no one else talking about this? I assume many writers (along with anyone who spends a lot of time with butt-in-chair and fingers-to-keyboard) experience this pain.

Of course there are other reasons why I might be hurting. I am constantly picking up my two-year-old and carrying her on my hip while also lugging around a heavy diaper bag on one shoulder. And I have scoliosis, so that’s not helping matters.

But I’ve never had this much pain just from sitting.

Lately, every day, when I sit down at my desk to write, almost immediately my neck and shoulders get sore, and the other day my back was literally spasming. Not good.

At first I thought the problem was looking down. So I got a laptop stand, a wireless keyboard, and a wireless trackpad. Yay, I thought, now I’m good.

But no. In the past week my neck and shoulder pain has been worse than ever. Which stinks, seeing as how I need to work on revisions to my novel. (Remember that 18-page editorial letter I got from my agent??) I’m excited to work on my manuscript, but writing is causing me physical pain.

Apparently we should all be sitting like this. Photo courtesy of branch furniture.

The other day I decided the problem was my old, crappy office chair, which was offering me nothing in the way of back support.

So yesterday I took my 5 year old and 2 year old to Staples to test out office chairs. We had a blast. (As children of the COVID-era, any time I take them inside somewhere, they act like we’re at the circus... To be clear, neither of them have ever been to an actual circus.)

I sat down in this one chair — the Flex-Fit Hyken — and I was like, ohhh, so this is what back support feels like. It was on sale, so I decided not to overthink it. I just bought it.

I’m sitting in it now, and it does feel better… but I’m still hurting. I think my neck, back, and shoulder muscles are so cranked up, what I really need to do is give them time to heal. So my plan is this:

1. I’m getting a massage tomorrow.

2. I’m using the heating pad tonight.

3. I’m taking Saturday through Monday off — no writing, no laptop, no sitting at a desk

4. I’m going to do lots of stretching and yoga

5. When I go back to sitting at my desk on Tuesday, I will use my laptop stand and experiment with different chair heights to see what feels best.

I’m really hoping all of this will do the trick and that my new chair will help me write without pain. Has anyone else had this problem? How did you solve it? I am open to suggestions! I may need to find a chiropractor.

I may need to get on Tik-Tok.

In an attempt to not feel so old, the other day I wore a pair of overalls I bought when I was 17.

School’s Out for Summer!

So I’ve decided not to send out courses over the summer. I figure people are busy with vacations and taking care of school-aged children who now have nothing to do all day but wreak havoc and complain about being bored.

And for those of you who aren’t busy this summer, it’s a great time to catch up on the courses you’ve missed. Cultivating a Regular Writing Practice and Getting Started on Your Novel are available for paid subscribers.

And not to worry, there’s still lots of great content coming your way this summer. In addition to more short stories, I will be posting (for paid subscribers only):

• the middle grade novel query letter that got me two offers of representation

• the full, messy, unabridged story of How I Found and Lost My First Agent

In the fall I’ll resume course offerings. The two I have planned are Sticking with Your WIP (Work-in-Progress) and How to Get a Lit Agent. So stay tuned!

Writing News

For All Writers:

• Hoping to start writing regularly this summer? Read about my virtual course Cultivating a Regular Writing Practice! This series of do-it-on-your-own-time lessons will help you create a writing routine that works for you and keeps you writing regularly for the long-term. All four lessons are available now for paid subscribers.  

• This #CoachHunt from The Authors of Tomorrow on July 23 looks really cool. Pitch your story idea, and a mentor will reach out to you if they are interested in being your mentor/writing coach. (TAOT also offer a lot of great publishing workshops.)

• Check out all the many resources at Camp NaNoWriMo, which begins July 1. Tackle any writing project, set your own word-count goals, join a 12-person writing group, participate in writing sprints, and more.

• I used to live in Seattle and take in-person classes at the Hugo House, so I can vouch for their excellent quality. These days, most Hugo House classes and workshops are virtual… which means you don’t have to live in Seattle to be a student! Check out their course catalog with over 80 brand-new classes in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, the writing life, reading, and more—including four free classes.

• On Saturday July 9 SCBWI Maryland/Deleware/West Virginia will be offering a webinar for both members and nonmembers: Years in the Making: Embracing the Long View as Writers with Meera Trehan. This is such a great topic. It truly is a marathon, not a sprint.

• Book recommendation: Courtney Maum’s Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book. A funny and informative read, even if you’re nowhere close to having a book deal. (Doesn’t hurt to be prepared, am I right?)

• Along the same lines, we see so much advice about how to write and query a book, but not much advice about what to do once the dream comes true. I thought this Twitter thread with advice for debut authors was very interesting. (Again, doesn’t hurt to think ahead!)

  

For Querying Writers:

• TONIGHT (June 23 from 8-9pm EST) Book Pipeline is hosting a #PipelineAuthorsChat all about agenting, querying, and the publishing industry with Lit Agent Erin Clyburn. Just search "#PipelineAuthors" on Twitter, click on "Latest" at the top, and refresh every few minutes to get the newest tweets. Don't forget to use the #PipelineAuthors hashtag in the chat, including any questions you have for Erin.

• Enter the Pass or Pages Query Contest to win feedback from agents about whether they would pass or request pages based on your query. The submission window is July 4-8. If you need help crafting your query, read the previous entires along with the agent feedback.

• On June 28-30 The Manuscript Academy is having a 3-day online Submission Packet Workshop for the very reasonable price of $39.99.

• Every Friday, Operation Awesome offers one free query critique through their #QueryFriday contest.

• You all read Nathan Bransford’s blog, right? He’s an author and book coach, and I find his query letter and first page critiques to be quite helpful.

• The querying trenches are rough right now, and Twitter pitch parties can feel like a crapshoot, but still, as I always say, it’s a great way to meet other writers and it certainly doesn’t hurt to try. (After all, I found my agent through a Twitter pitch party. I am now an official success story!) So mark your calendar for these upcoming Twitter pitch parties. And be sure to read my article 13 Things to Know About Twitter Pitch Events.

  • June 29/30: #KidLitPit This is a new Twitter pitch event for picture books, middle grade, and YA. It’s running a full 24 hours to give people from every time zone a chance to participate.

  • August 1 and 2: #DVPit a Twitter pitch to agents for self-identifying, historically-marginalized authors and illustrators

    • August 1 (8AM - 8PM EST) for childrens & YA fiction/nonfiction

    • August 2 (8AM - 8PM EST) for adult fiction/nonfiction and for artists & illustrators using #DVart

Writing Conferences (in person and virtual):

• July 22-25 Daniel David Wallace will be hosting an online summit all about finding your readers… and I will be one of the presenters! More details coming soon.

• Write On Con, an online conference for kidlit writers is now open for registration. The conference will be held July 15-17.

• And there’s also WOWCON, WriteMentor’s online conference for kidlit writers, coming up September 24 - 26.

• This New York Write to Pitch 2022 Conference looks intriguing. The Zoom portion is September 8-11 and the live part is September 22-25 in NYC. And there are pre- and post-content, too. They are calling it The Premier Career Launcher for Aspiring Authors.

  • I’m going to be honest, there’s so much going on with this conference I’d need an entire day to study and digest the website, but it looks very professional and comprehensive, so take a look for yourself!

• This year the Writing Day Workshop “How to Get Published” Conferences will be held virtually. I attended one of these conferences in person a few years ago in Philadelphia, and I thought it was fantastic. I can’t vouch for the virtual version, but there are some benefits: recorded classes, no travel expenses, attend in your comfy pants. Plus, you can sign up for Zoom pitch sessions with agents for $29 a piece. Check out the upcoming conferences (and remember, anyone can attend from anywhere; just keep the time zone in mind). 

  • Florida Writing Workshop: July 8-9, 2022Kansas City Writing Workshop: August 5-6, 2022

  • Writing Conference of Los Angeles: September 9-10, 2022

• After years of virtual conferences, we’re starting to see some in-person ones. (Be sure to take a COVID test before you go!) Check out these upcoming summer conferences:

  • Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference: August 18-21 in Franklin, Tennessee. This conferences brings together forensic experts, writers, and fans of crime and thriller literature. They also offer discounts and scholarships.

  • For more writing conferences, check out this list or this list of 19 Writing Conferences for Emerging and Established Writers.