COVID-19 & The Rise of the Writers
Let’s face it, things are a bit shit at the moment. Some people are naturally very gifted at finding the silver lining in any given situation but for those of us who aren’t natural spin doctors, it takes a bit more thought and consideration, and a concerted effort to move past that black cloud.
However, now is a great time to be a writer. The world’s professional writers are putting their best feet forward. We’ve got free book giveaways to the housebound, discounts, authors sending their itineraries to nursing homes free of charge, emails and messages of support to fans, blog posts to promote morale and support, children’s authors are reading their stories online at bedtime. What a fantastic community to be a part of!
But even if you aren’t yet an established or published author — now is still your time. I’ve put some ideas together for you, to help you level up your writing game and make COVID-19 your bitch:
Activate outbreak fiction research mode
We’re living through unusual times. We’re also living through the embodiment of a very popular fiction sub-genre — you may have even bought a copy of Dean Koontz’s Eyes of Darkness (written in 1981 and currently topping the Amazon charts).
This is your opportunity to learn about real life responses to a pandemic and isolation — including your own personal responses. I have a suspicion that pandemic and outbreak themed fiction is going to be very popular for a while… If you think you might be interested in writing long form or short form fiction in this genre, start collecting material:
- Keep a diary to document your own thoughts, responses and feelings
- Make plenty of notes — jot down details of happenings, processes, official recommendations, quotations, events, the responses of other individuals and organisations
- Start saving topical videos to a watch list, create a list of useful links, save news, blog posts and emails as PDFs (print -> save to PDF)
- Write down ideas and snippets as they come to you and organise them in a useful, easy to access way
Read
This is one of my favourites! Good writers are great readers. If you’re stuck at home in voluntary or enforced isolation, take the opportunity to do some extra reading. Raid your bookshelves, work your way through your ever growing to-read pile, order new books from delivery-enabled retailers or on Kindle, borrow e-books from your library.
And you don’t just have to stick to novels. Try moving out of your comfort zone and reading personal essays, poetry, short stories, blogs, articles, tutorials, how-tos — anything. There’s a lot of interesting and inspiring content out there, make it your mission to find and absorb it.
Just because you have to be at home, doesn’t mean you can’t explore strange new worlds…
Extra writing time
It sounds obvious, but if you’ve got some extra time on your hands and can’t leave the house, use the opportunity to write more. For those of us with full time jobs, families and commitments, finding the time to write can be more challenging than actually writing the darn book.
Having school or work cancelled really sucks but we’re looking for those silver linings, and the big one is time. You don’t have to sit on your hands; remember, you always wanted that extra time to work on your book or collection. Well, now you just might have it. Use it!
Distance learning
Plenty of reputable online learning facilitators are offering free and hugely discounted access to courses. Why not brush up your writing skills or learn something new by enrolling on a distance course or class?
Mingle with writing communities online
‘Social distancing’ is such a disappointingly poor turn of phrase. ‘Physical distancing’ would be better.
Yes, you’re probably physically isolating yourself but you absolutely don’t have to socially isolate yourself. We have this amazing tool — the internet… You’re not the only one stuck at home, there are lots of other writers out there in the same boat. Find a reputable online writing community and start chatting to some like minded people*.
If you’re already part of a physical writing group, why not set up a Discord server or Whatsapp group so you can keep communicating?
Get involved in Camp NaNoWriMo
You may have noticed that we’re only about a week off the start of April & frankly that’s a match made in heaven. Camp NaNoWriMo is about to start and if you have extra time on your hands right now, it’s the perfect event to get involved with.
The really great thing about the April (and July) NaNo events are that you can work on any kind of writing project, not just a novel. Take your book, essay, poetry or short story collection ideas and turn NaNoWriMo into PaNoWriMo.
Just because you’re physically alone, doesn’t mean you have to be alone. If you’re a writer or an aspiring writer then flip Coronavirus the bird and seize the opportunity to escape into the world of the written word.
Be safe. Be inspired. Be you.
*Make sure you’re taking sensible precautions when chatting online. Stick to established, reputable groups and don’t give out your personal details or data.
