James,
I'll be looking forward to your lessons on picks and strumming.
Good to know that I'm not the only one who has pick problems. I've been trying different positions and picks but just can't get comfortable with them. If I'm doing a lot of up and down strumming I tend to use a thinner pick. I just changed strings on these two guitars I have and now find that my picks sound real clunky or something.
What kind of really set me free strumming was a couple of months ago I went out on our porch. I had this old 'beater', an old $25 Decca guitar, I got at a garage sale. I had glued it back together and put a new nut and saddle on it. We live in a remote area so no one was around or could hear me.
I just let lose on this thing with my hand and wrist. I don't recommend this to everyone but I just beat the heck out of this guitar and let my frustration go. Broke a couple of picks and some went into the sound hole.
It was really kind of a freeing experience - just letting go. In other words, I've always been kind of holding back from the guitar maybe trying to use too much finesse or something.
I realized then that a guitar wants to be played and is built to handle it. Hope that doesn't sound weird or anything but now I find myself really free to let my hand and wrist flow. But I don't beat them like I did that day.
Dan