Comments on: 5 Valuable Writing Lessons from Dry Socket

By: Terry Montague

Terry Montague — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 06:13:40 +0000

I think it was last October (about the time you were writing this article) I discovered I had shingles. I was at a three-day writer's conference and felt as if I couldn't drag my legs down a hallway that seemed as long and narrow as the Wall of China. That night I skipped the banquet and the next day I couldn't attend the last classes. My memory fades at about that time. (I knew nothing about shingles, other than my doctor said I needed a couple of immunizations, and I'd already had the first one.) About the beginning of February, my memory began floating back. I don't remember writing anything during that time. However, this week I discovered I'd registered for a couple of WD workshops. (I think I may have listened to one of them.) I checked my WD account and found them waiting for me. Since my memory had been shot full of holes, I decided to take as many notes as I could. I was disappointed that I hadn't done better and discouraged thinking, "I just can't do this. It's too hard!" Then a distant voice hollered from my past, "Of course you can do this! You've been doing it all your life!" So, tomorrow, I'm going back to the workshop and fill in the blanks I left in my notebook. Because I can do hard things!

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 17:18:27 +0000

In reply to Christine Dorman. May mama was truly a special human. And all nursing -- really dealing with the public in general -- is challenging. Especially these days.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 17:16:18 +0000

In reply to denise. That sounds absolutely miserable - sepsis is scary AND painful. No one talks about that part. And I am so sorry for your losses, Denise. Losing one person is hard enough. I can't imagine dealing with all of it in such a short timeframe.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 18:13:46 +0000

In reply to Lisa Norman. I adore the way you approach tech challenges. I've bordered the IT world for all of my career and I can't count how many times I've watched someone go, "I wonder what will happen if I do THIS...Uh-oh...." And for sure you don't want the dreaded dry socket. I was absolutely peeved at how long it took to resolve.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 18:12:09 +0000

In reply to Shari Heinrich. No tooth pain is insignificant, Shari. I think it's the location that makes it so unbearable. I had 38 years of migraines before I figured out I had a gluten allergy, and I'd put tooth pain in the same ballpark as a migraine. That's saying something. I'm so glad your eyes are getting back on track. Eye things and hand things are terrifying for writers -- they're our tools.

By: Christine Dorman

Christine Dorman — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 17:00:02 +0000

Jenny, God bless your mother! Oncology's tough. Then again, OB/Gyn (and Peds) can be a lot harder than people realize.

Thanks for your consistently helpful posts and for always responding.

All the best! 🙂

By: denise

denise — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 04:54:01 +0000

I had a sinus infection that quickly turned to sepsis and cost me a tooth, so I can imagine your pain. I still have the x-ray, and the doctor said it was one of the worst he had seen.

This year has been a different writing setback. Three deaths in 9 months, and one for which my husband is the executor, and I've helped him with a lot of paperwork, research, and other stuff which comes with handling an estate.

I need to get back on track with my writing.

By: Lisa Norman

Lisa Norman — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 04:06:31 +0000

I have NOT had dry socket, and I hope to never experience that. UGH. Hugs!!! I love all of the valuable advice that you brought out from this. For me, I think that tech challenges have given me some of my best techniques and lessons. For example: when something catastrophic goes wrong and you don't know how to fix it: breathe. Don't rush to do SOMETHING, because that rushing will generally (for me at least) cause more damage than I fix. Then after a few deep breaths, analyze everything. What went wrong? What will make it better? What do I need to do to fix this? And then once I have a plan, implement it carefully. Right after making a backup.

By: Shari Heinrich

Shari Heinrich — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 02:25:07 +0000

Jenny, yikes! I am so sorry you endured that. Never knew what dry socket was. Makes my root canal post-op pain seem insignificant. Last year was my health challenge, an eye issue that made it tough to make it through day job. No spoons left for writing. Eventually I could enjoy reading books again. Slowly, worked on paper edits. The issue taught me that critical lesson of giving myself grace. And that, yup, even doing a little editing on paper was better than giving up on my dream because it had gotten harder.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 23:01:24 +0000

In reply to Christine Dorman. Christine, that sounds awful! I too had extensive dental and oral surgery work in my tweens/teens and it is really frightening. We don't know anything at that point, so it all feels huge. No wonder you became a nurse! p.s. I grew up around nurses and I love them. My mama (oncology), my aunt (ER), and their best friend (OB/Gyn Recovery). :-)