Skip to content

Squirrel Talk

Nutty Chitter from a Caffeinated Critter

Menu
  • Books
    • Niniers Series
    • Cera Chronicles
    • Anthologies
  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy
Menu

It Has To Hurt #IWSG

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Loni Townsend

If you saw last week’s post, you probably read about my wrist issues. I got the results of the MRI! There’s no cyst. In fact, the doctor doesn’t know what’s wrong with me, and can’t see anything in the scan or x-rays that he can fix or even address. (Thus is the life at the Town’s End, as it is the same story with my husband’s recurring foot issues, and no, they aren’t the same doctors.) The doctor’s only suggestion was a cortisone injection to see if it has any effect. Well, it had an effect–I got a cortisone flare that hurt worse than the actual wrist issue. The pain still isn’t 100% gone, so it’s too soon to tell whether or not the shot will do me any good. It did hamper my weight-lifting routine a bit because Monday night, I couldn’t even twist the lid off my tea, let alone lift a dumbbell. *sigh* Maybe it’ll be like they say in the Neverending Story — “It has to hurt if it’s to heal.”

On the writing front, today is Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Had it arrived earlier this week, I would’ve told you all about my insecurity with what I was going to do with two characters for a five-day span in my timeline. I was uninspired, and anything I did think up was superfluous to the plot. But after a chat with my sis-in-law, I got it worked out, so I’m no longer insecure about it. In fact, I’ve written about 2K words in the past week, including 500+ yesterday. So no insecurities to report this month. I got through the hurt and managed to heal.

IWSG Question of the Month – What do you love about the genre you write in most often?

Right now, I’m on a world-building kick, from moons and comets to extinct dragonkin and the mortal races. Will most of this come into play in the book? Pfft, no! But my world is my playground, has been for the majority of my life, which is what I love about fantasy.

Have you ever had any undiagnosable physical issues? Do you ever get into a book-timeline funk? Do you love getting lost in a creative world?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Insecure Writers Support Group Badge
You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

41 thoughts on “It Has To Hurt #IWSG”

  1. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    February 7, 2018 at 9:27 AM

    Good news about your wrist although bummer they don’t know what’s wrong. Tell them you aren’t a pincushion though.
    Who doesn’t want to explore dragons?

    Reply
  2. J.Q. Rose says:
    February 7, 2018 at 10:45 AM

    So sorry to hear about your wrist. This is one time when you really want the doc to find something wrong! So far, I haven’t had that frustrating problem of no diagosis. Glad you are no longer insecure…anyway about that 5 day timeline lapse. !!
    JQ Rose

    Reply
  3. Raimey Gallant says:
    February 7, 2018 at 10:46 AM

    I agree with Alex. No more experiments that result in more pain! How did you even write this post?

    Reply
  4. chemistken says:
    February 7, 2018 at 10:56 AM

    Worldbuilding is great, isn’t it? All that fun with no responsibilities. But eventually we have to write the darn book. Boo!

    Sorry about the wrist. Hopefully it doesn’t interfere with the writing.

    Reply
  5. Christine Rains says:
    February 7, 2018 at 11:29 AM

    That’s good about your wrist, and hopefully they can figure things out for both you and your hubby soon. I love world building. I do it sometimes in my head just for fun!

    Reply
  6. Patricia Lynne says:
    February 7, 2018 at 11:29 AM

    That kind of sucks about your wrist. I have that issue with my back. Something is wrong, but nothing showed up in the MRI or x-rays. My doc said something about there being something that wouldn’t show up in those tests, but I can’t remember exactly what he said! I plan on asking next time I see him. Maybe ask yours to look into seeing if there are problems that wouldn’t show in an MRI.

    Reply
  7. Erika Beebe says:
    February 7, 2018 at 11:31 AM

    I am so sorry to hear about your wrist. I recently went through something similar with my knee and it bummed me out. The MRI came back with lots of inflammation but no tears. I did have a small cyst. It sets you back but then when you come back the gains are amazing and I do appreciate feeling better. Good luck with all your world building. I have had a hard time thinking through my last three scenes. The outline is there but man, it’s not quite flowing yet. Thank you for your sparkly post. I love reading you’re thoughts 🙂

    Reply
  8. Cherie Reich says:
    February 7, 2018 at 11:35 AM

    I hope they figure out what is wrong with your wrist or that it gets better on its own eventually. I have wrist problems, and it can be annoying. I tend to wear a brace when I’m at the computer to stabilize it, and it’s cut down on some of the pain.

    Reply
  9. M.J. Fifield says:
    February 7, 2018 at 11:35 AM

    I love it when there’s nothing in the scans or x-rays. That’s never frustrating at all, is it? When I hurt my back a few years ago, that happened, and they gave me a shot to see if it would help. And it hurt worse than the original pain. Hope you get some relief soon!

    And hooray for no insecurities and for working out what to do with your characters. So glad your sister-in-law was able to help you figure it out.

    Reply
  10. Chrys Fey says:
    February 7, 2018 at 11:42 AM

    I’m sorry to hear you still don’t know what’s wrong with your wrist. I hope it gets better,

    Isn’t it great what a chat with a trusted person will do your a WIP? 🙂

    Reply
  11. Anna says:
    February 7, 2018 at 12:01 PM

    Moving into worldbuilding can be a blast. Have fun.

    Anna from elements of emaginette

    Reply
  12. Madeline Mora-Summonte says:
    February 7, 2018 at 12:04 PM

    Yeh for no insecurities!

    And yep, I’ve had terrible skin issues that had no obvious cause. So frustrating! And while I still deal with the occasional bout of it, some traditional meds knocked out the most serious of it but then acupuncture and herbs healed it pretty much for the long haul. Hang in there, Loni!

    Reply
  13. C. Lee McKenzie says:
    February 7, 2018 at 12:09 PM

    Sometimes getting the right diagnosis is the biggest hurdle. I hope they find the culprit and you don’t have to experiment with possible cures anymore.

    Love that you’re playing with dragonkin. They are the bestest.

    Reply
  14. Juneta says:
    February 7, 2018 at 12:11 PM

    Ouch, I hope that wrist feels better soon. I love worldbuilding too. Wishing you much fun and success.

    Reply
  15. Pat Garcia says:
    February 7, 2018 at 12:50 PM

    You know, I am dealing with a wrist issue too, but I refuse to take cortisone. I’ve heard so many yucky things about cortisone. But I am also wary of doctors. Sometimes they can do the craziest things. I remind myself all the time that they are humans just like me and don’t have all the answers. So what do I do about my wrist. I take a Voltaren 25mg soft capsule that I got from our pharmacy in the morning after I wake and before I eat breakfast and try to rest the wrist as much as I can by typing with my wrist resting against my desktop. It’s working fine and now I don’t have to take the capsules every day.
    Hope you feel better soon. Shalom aleichem,
    Pat G @ EverythingMustChange

    Reply
  16. Cathrina says:
    February 7, 2018 at 12:52 PM

    I’m so sorry about your wrist. I’m had similar aches and pains and eventually they go away, but I always wonder what the heck was causing the pain?

    I love world building. Good Luck!!!

    Reply
  17. Natalie Aguirre says:
    February 7, 2018 at 3:35 PM

    My husband had a lot of chronic lung problems that led to other problems that sometimes came and went or we found out what was wrong too late, like both achilles tendons tore due to an allergic reaction to an antibiotic. It can be frustrating. Glad you figured out what you were insecure about.

    Reply
  18. Susan Gourley says:
    February 7, 2018 at 4:01 PM

    I’ll put on my health teacher hat and suggest you have something inflamed in that wrist. It’s a very complicated joint. Rest and anti-inflamatory medicine like Naproxen or Advil. Going through a bunch of medical tests myself. They know what’s wrong, just not what is causing it. Next on the agenda, how to treat it. But am writing away.

    Reply
  19. Elsie says:
    February 7, 2018 at 4:53 PM

    Wow! Go you for writing so much. That’s awesome! Now, the whole pain thing, not so awesome. Not awesome at all. I did have unexplained pain (still do) in my neck/shoulders/back. They diagnosed fibro and put me on a ton of meds. End result – I gained a ton of weight, had even more widespread pain and was miserable. I went on medication holiday (this was a few years ago), even stopped my migraine preventative meds, so my body could calm down a bit, and now I’m back right where I was when I first started. I’d rather have the neck/shoulder/back pain than the all over my body pain. That was the pits! All that to say…I’m so sorry you’re suffering. It sucks. It sucks hard! Healing vibes headed your way and your hubby’s way.

    Reply
  20. C.G.Coppola says:
    February 7, 2018 at 6:02 PM

    So, yeah, maybe no lifting for a while. But yay on the writing front! I’m glad you got it worked out with your sis-n-law and that you’re getting those words on a page – and a lot of them too! 🙂

    Hope your wrist feels better!

    Reply
  21. L. Diane Wolfe says:
    February 7, 2018 at 6:24 PM

    That’s so frustrating when they don’t know what is wrong. Some people say cortisone shots help, but I’m taking your experience to heart.

    That’s wonderful you fixed the issue.

    Reply
  22. Liz A. says:
    February 7, 2018 at 6:46 PM

    I’m so sorry. That sucks. Have you tried going to a chiropractor? I once had a wrist pain that would not go away. He did some magic, and poof, pain gone. Although, I think I had pulled something, so mine had a cause. (The other good one for mysterious pain is the acupuncturist. I was surprised how much that can help with pain.)

    I hope you find a solution. Or the pain just goes away on its own. Stop laughing. It could happen.

    Reply
  23. Elizabeth Otten says:
    February 7, 2018 at 11:37 PM

    Undiagnosable issues: Yes! I have allergy symptoms most of the year, so I went to an allergist and had an allergy test done. Turns out, I’m only slightly allergic to two of the 30+ things they tested for. I hope your wrist heals quickly!

    I’ve read 3-4 posts today that mentioned fantasy and creating worlds, which makes me want to work on my fantasy story, and maybe even turn it into a novel 🙂

    Reply
  24. Shannon Lawrence says:
    February 7, 2018 at 11:45 PM

    I feel you on the medical issues. My name on a forum was Medical Mystery. I’ve come to terms with it at this point. It’s always so nice to work out story issues.

    Reply
  25. Michelle Wallace says:
    February 8, 2018 at 6:07 AM

    Sorry to read about your wrist problem! Hope it’s sorted out soon.
    I always admire the fantasy writers who build those amazing and complex worlds from scratch! I prefer writing stories grounded in reality…
    Have fun on the fantasy playground!

    Reply
  26. Cheryl says:
    February 8, 2018 at 6:55 AM

    How frustrating to not know what is up with your wrist. And sorry to hear about the pain of the supposed remedy.
    You are valiant, though, in persevering to get your word count ever increasing. Yay you!
    Sending healing wishes.

    Reply
  27. Roland R Clarke says:
    February 8, 2018 at 3:30 PM

    I hope they resolve your health problem, Loni. Pleased that you leapt back into creating your world.

    Reply
  28. Victoria Marie Lees says:
    February 8, 2018 at 4:09 PM

    Yikes! I’m so sorry to hear you have trouble with your wrist. I’ll pray for a speedy recovery. Breathe and never give up. You’re doing great!

    Reply
  29. NRRN says:
    February 8, 2018 at 4:32 PM

    Wrists are so important to a writer. I do hope yours get better soon!

    All the best!

    Reply
  30. Olga Godim says:
    February 8, 2018 at 9:13 PM

    Sorry about your wrist problems. I don’t know if my advice would help you, but it couldn’t hurt. I have a recurring problem with one of my wrists. It starts hurting for no reason sometimes, and it’s been going on for decades. I find that what helps it is one of 2 things:
    1. Immobility. I bandage it but not tightly and try to move it as little as possible.
    2. Wool. It has to be 100% real wool, the scratchier the better. I knit a wool bracelet for myself and whenever my wrist misbehaves, I put this bracelet on, day and night. After a few days, it does help, at least a little.
    And on the writing front: fantasy is my genre as well. Don’t you like it when magic is available? I do.

    Reply
  31. Mason T. Matchak says:
    February 9, 2018 at 6:57 AM

    I think the world-building and figuring things out can be one of the most fun parts of creation, yeah. But something I’ve learned is that I have to have the characters set first, so I know who I’m dealing with before I make a place for them to live. Otherwise I have all this great history and lore, but no actual story. >_<

    And that sucks about your wrist. I haven't had major issues that couldn't get diagnosed, but I have had minor stuff where the doctor just plain didn't know what could have caused it. It never helps. Hope you can get a better handle on what's going on soon.

    Reply
  32. Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor says:
    February 9, 2018 at 7:27 AM

    How wonderful that you don’t have any writing insecurities this month!

    Sorry about the issue with your wrist. How frustrating that they can’t figure it out.

    Reply
  33. Crystal Collier says:
    February 9, 2018 at 10:49 AM

    You know, those narrating programs are getting so good that I’ve debated transitioning to preserve my poor wrists–but in your line of work, that might be difficult. I can’t imagine speaking computer code. LOL. Talk about typos and misunderstandings.

    Reply
  34. CD Gallant-King says:
    February 9, 2018 at 2:19 PM

    Sucks about your wrist, I hope it gets fixed/gets better soon. I haven’t had any undiagnosible illnesses myself, but my wife has a list of them a mile long, so I’ve seen first hand how frustrating it can be.

    I spent a lot less time tinkering with background than I used to. I found I spent more time with backstory than I did writing the actual book, so now I just plow ahead and make up/work out details as they come up, when I have to.

    Reply
  35. Arlee Bird says:
    February 10, 2018 at 12:07 PM

    I get your frustration about the medical issues. I guess doctors don’t have all the answers. Pain is supposedly the body’s way of telling us something–too bad when that message isn’t clearly understood.

    I usually don’t involve myself with other worlds, but I do like to world build in other times of history. There is so much in the world in which we live that I want to explore or revisit.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

    Reply
  36. Patsy says:
    February 11, 2018 at 5:22 AM

    It must be really frustrating that the doctors can’t find what’s wrong.

    Reply
  37. H.R. Sinclair says:
    February 12, 2018 at 10:40 AM

    I’m sorry to hear they didn’t find out what was wrong and decided to experiment. (That never ends well!)

    Reply
  38. Stephen Tremp says:
    February 13, 2018 at 7:25 AM

    Creating worlds and the physics and politics and cultures that govern them are fun. I’m working on just such a topic. Regardless of the worlds or races mysticism always creeps in. it’s hard if not impossible to have a purely non-religious or paranormal society.

    Reply
  39. Sherry Ellis says:
    February 14, 2018 at 10:04 AM

    How frustrating that you don’t have a diagnosis! I hope your wrist starts feeling better soon!

    Reply
  40. Monique says:
    February 14, 2018 at 6:55 PM

    Wow. I’m sorry to hear about your wrist. You’re such a trooper! Take care and please share the good news — because that’s all I’m hoping for! 🙂

    Reply
  41. J.H. Moncrieff says:
    February 20, 2018 at 1:45 PM

    Ack, that’s terrible about your wrist, but I’m glad to see in your latest post that the cortisone shot helped.

    I’ve had a few undiagnosable medical issues. For the worst of the bunch, I actually went to a medical intuitive, which is a kind of psychic. May sound strange, but she correctly identified what was going on–I was allergic to the man I was dating at the time. Seriously! None of the specialists I’d been seeing had considered an allergy to a man–they were looking at bath products, etc.

    When that relationship ended, so did the medical condition. I’m so thankful for that intuitive. I was beginning to feel doomed before I went that route.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to my blog. I post here on Wednesdays most of the time, but you can find me on social media any day of the week. My topics include my stories and writing, life at the Town's End, creating and tinkering with graphics, things I learn and think might be helpful to others, and the occasional amateur photo. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you around.

Get Social!

Follow Me on FacebookFollow Me on TwitterFollow Me on FlickrFollow Me on InstagramFollow Me on PinterestFollow Me on RSSFollow Me on GoodreadsEmail Me!Follow Me on DeviantArt

Recent Posts

  • Keep On Marching On #IWSG
  • Got You Covered #IWSG
  • Welcome 2023! #IWSG
  • Progress Made #IWSG
  • No NaNo for Me #IWSG

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with me and Mailchimp to receive my blog posts via emails. Don't worry, I only post about once a month. Use the unsubscribe link in the email to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

Categories

Books and Anthologies

© 2023 Squirrel Talk | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme