A Writer's Notebook, Day Nine-Hundred-And-Forty-Five

I am feeling a bit better about things right now, as I do have some thoughts on new strategies that may improve things for me.  In part, it involves tackling numerous things I find daunting, but I am hoping to enlist help for a lot of it.  One aspect is to think of ways to get more exposure online.  I am working on some interesting projects that are a bit tangential to my writing, but one in particular feels that it might be worth documenting, possibly even with some sort of video or videos.  It is a project I've been considering for some time and that connects to a specific fear I have about giving readings and doing events as a writer: signing books.  

It is clear, of course, that it is important for any writer to be prepared to do signings, even for them to sign books beyond those done for a specific reader.  As a person who loves books, I have a love of signed editions, and I appreciate authors taking the time to offer such a gesture.  I think, in particular, of Neil Gaiman's propensity for signing his works at random airport bookstores so some future traveler gets a surprise.  I understand the importance of signing books, the interaction, the personal touch it represents, but I am also terrified of attempting to sign books, especially for any period of time.  My dysgraphia makes such a task both physically and mentally laborious, so I am trying to come up with a way I can sign books and interact on that level, while not exhausting myself.  In specific, I am considering the idea of a robotic arm or something of that sort, but I am also sensitive to the fact that it might come across as dismissive or offensive to some people who need prostheses in a way I do not.  Though I know my reasoning is genuine, I can also recognize that this is an area which deserves sensitivity.

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