When I think about barriers to my writing, the first things that usually come to mind are a lack of inspiration, a bad writing environment and the lack of time. These are all fairly common challenges that most writers have to overcome. But now that I really think about it, most of us face far more trivial issues on top of this. Stuff that seems so silly that it’s barely worth mentioning, and yet it poses real issues to our productivity.
For me it’s my nails. Yep, my fingernails are standing between me and literary success. I don’t have hugely long nails but they usually stand out a few millimetres beyond my fingertips. It’s even worse if I go for the occasional manicure and get acrylic ones put on. It’s a weakness I admit, but I just love pretty nail art. And the upshot of that is that when I come to type out my manuscripts, I have to do so at about half the speed I could do with short nails. Typing with these things is harder than you would think! Most of the time, it just means I am writing a little slower than I would like, but now and then, when I’m really on a roll with my ideas, I find that my fingers just can’t keep up with my brain anymore. Once or twice I’ve gotten so frustrated with this that I have just chopped all my nails off and enjoyed the bliss of typing at full speed. But I end up quickly regretting it.
Do you have any ‘first world problems’ when it comes to your writing?
Mine aren’t anywhere near this long, but they sure feel like it when I’m typing!
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pilesofpages 
It could be worse. You could choose to write in cursive on a yellow pad to make it harder on yourself :). I think for every profession, the right tools make the difference between stellar success and the pack. In your case, and I never even thought of this before, it’s your nails. If you’re serious about your writing, you’re going to need to cut your nails. Otherwise you’re like a marathon runner with a millstone around your neck. Or – you could learn how to dictate. A whole other skill!
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Maybe I need to buy some voice recognition software! Although that might be annoying for everyone else in the room. 🙂
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