This is K.M. Wyland and you're listening to the one hundred sixty-sixth episode of the word play podcast.

I like to write my outline's long hand.

Something about the scribble of pin on paper and the inability to go back and delete or refine

helps me let loose with the raw and perfection of early creativity.

The problem is that the nagging repetitive stress injury in my wrist doesn't like long

handwriting nearly as much as my news does.

So, I've been experimenting with pins.

First stop was a fat pin, and that seemed to help some sense

its width kept my fingers from pinching together so closely.

But then it ran out of ink.

Next stop was an ergonomic pin.

Aside from the fact that its resemblance to some kind of ship right out of Star Trek can get a little

distracting, I'm liking it quite a bit. It takes a little bit of getting used to since my fingers

are placed completely differently from what I'm used to.

But the idea is that the weight of the hand presses the pin down on the page

so you don't have to grip it nearly as tightly.

It's not a cure-all, but it's keeping me writing.

Is the cliffhanger ending overrated?

The latest post in the video series on my blog

explores the pros and cons of using a cliffhanger to end books within a series.

To watch it, visit my blog at wordplay-K-M-Yland, that's W-E-I-L-N-D dot blog spot.

New videos are posted every Wednesday.

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