I have to say that my opinion on pens changed completely the minute I held one in my hand at a meet-up. Until then I didn't think I would have much use for them. The day after the meet-up, I ordered a Wacom Bamboo.
Since then I use it regularly for drawing and painting, and last week-end I bought a very nice app called Noteshelf that I use to take handwritten notes, something I would never had thought useful.
Noteshelf has a "wrist protection" option, basically it's just a part of the screen that you can place your wrist on without disturbing the writing. But it only works if there is only one point of contact with the hand, not if you put wrist and palm, as I did at first. The protected zone moves as you write. It's not perfect and it does require an adaptation, but it works for me.