probably one of the most irritating things about this game is trying to jump (especially from the top of one pillar to the next - or you fall to your death).

I kept trying to jump, and I kept getting about half-way through, when suddenly I would stop short (like I hit my head or something), and fall straight down. I was spending way too much time just trying to get across those dumb pillar sections.

Then I figured something out that made jumping a whole lot easier. When you are about to jump, hold the "left shift" key - the same one you use to walk instead of run. That enables you to make normal jumps. After I figured that out, I was able to jump across the chasms without any problem whatsoever. So basically, if you are having trouble jumping, just try using the LShift key, and it should make your life much easier.

Good advice! I wish I'd read this before playing through the game. One thing to note is if you set the game's difficulty to easy (Squire, I believe) the pillars in the jumping sections are covered with planks so you can just walk across.