I don't know about you, but the Wacom fat-pen that comes with the Bamboo set cramps my hand like crazy, so I can't do more than 8-10 minutes worth of Skrittering in one stretch. So, I take a few 1-2 minute breathers while practicing to let my hand wake back up. When I return, I usually have to repeat the last two or three characters I finished from before the break. It doesn't seem to matter whether I got them right or wrong the first time, if that matters.

Am I the only one noticing this?

Hmmm, I have carpal tunnel, and I can Skritter for hours before my hand starts to hurt. I'm using an old Wacom Graphire with a fairly fat pen.

I would experiment with different positions to see if you can find one that lets you relax your hand and arm as much as possible. You should have as little tension as possible in your whole body, just enough to maintain your position.

Ditto James: there should hopefully be a way to do the Wacom such that it doesn't cramp your hand. I haven't heard of that happening to others.

For the practicing of the last characters: a prompt is submitted as soon as you move on to the next word. It also can take a few seconds to fully submit. So if you want to make sure the reviews take, leave Skritter on a new, unanswered prompt and give it a few seconds before closing it.

FYI, I have a tablet PC at home, and I also use the Wacom Bamboo set on a desktop PC. The tablet (a Fujitsu T4400) is awesome, and I can write on it for hours. The pen is smaller, comparable to a normal ballpoint, and much more comfortable than the Bamboo fatpen. Plus, it's completely awesome to write directly on the screen. The Bamboo is OK, but like I said the fatpen hurts my hand after a while. I have small-ish hands for a guy, so maybe that's important.

Thanks Nick for the response on the last character situation. I'll try your suggestion and report back here if I have continuing issues with it.

Nick: another thanks for explaining the last char issue... probably should have been apparent anyway.

jcdoss: about your fat pen issues. Is it those who tend to hold tightly to the pen that are more likely to have this problem? That's maybe nearly involuntary, learned way back in grade school as habit. However, if you can relax your grip you might not be so troubled with the fatness of the pen. That goes along with what James suggests - a relaxed hand and arm.

I'd prefer a narrow pen but I don't have any pain or discomfort with the standard Wacom one. The buttons are annoying but I can rotate the pen so that they're not in contact with my fingers. In contrast, the few times I go back to a mouse (when I don't switch the Bamboo to the other computer) I am reminded how much more strain that puts on my hand. If I were stuck with the mouse, I would be trolling for suggestions on how to handle hand pain.