So here I am, lying on my back with a pinched nerve causing the right side of my body to throb. I cannot use my right hand and so am patiently tapping away on my phone with my left hand. I am experiencing my normal drowsy and not particularly lucid response to painkillers. I have a video almost ready to publish on YouTube but cannot finish it until my right hand is usable. I also have a blog post waiting on that video. It’s a proof-of-concept about using Excel charts for cheap art. Oh well, I guess they can wait.

So as an aspiring author what am I to do while lying on my back in pain. Well, to be honest some of it will be spent watching videos on IT security as that is my principal profession. But I will also try to actually take note of everything I feel and experience.

The biggest emotion is frustration. Everything takes so long for me to do! I think that externalises similarly to anger because my daughter keeps apologizing and this constantly surprises me. Perhaps my tones are just harsher. So if I write an injured or sick character then I can include this.

I also seem to be walking a bit like either an old 1950/60s Mummy or Igor. My right arm hangs lifelessly and my right leg both swivels and limps. What a sight! Having said that, I am so darn slow when I walk. Makes you wonder why the protagonists of such old horror films didn’t just walk briskly away when meeting such creatures. There is no way that a monster walking as I do could ever catch them. OK, so that is another note for my writing – don’t write monsters with limps etc if at some point you want them chasing someone.

Another point – pain is stronger at night. I found myself getting up a few times in the night due to the pain and wandering the house. Can I get a future character to do this and in the course of their wanderings kick off the story?

Anyway, I am getting a bit weary but will continue noting everything.  A writer should do this. Every experience, both good and bad, should be learnt from.

Greg