As a writer, how are you planning on entering the post-pandemic era? You're just going to continue writing? Really? I think that you will find that you have changed - that your perspectives on life have changed. As your perspectives change, so will your character's perspectives, their needs, and their challenges. The world that you live in has changed drastically, and so will the world your characters live in.
It doesn't matter whether your characters are living in our current time, or if your story is placed several years back. As writers, we allow the story to flow through us. But we still have a basic way of looking at things that the current pandemic has altered. We are living in a world of face masks, isolating at home, restaurants that, when they open, will be only 50% capacity, with wait-staff wearing face masks. Schools are closed, with learning done on a digital basis. We may have a postal service that we cannot recognize. More people may be working from home, many people will remain out of work. There will be a mandatory six-foot social distancing, no handshaking, and massive use of hand sanitizer.
Travel may or may not be restricted, airlines will have a whole new set of rules, and hotels/motels may not offer the amenities that they now offer. Many businesses, both small and large, will be closing, This is the background against which we are writing our stories. Can we step away from that background and feel comfortable writing stories based in the past - even in the recent past?
What I am doing is journaling - a little bit each day - to see where I am in life, and how I am handling all of these changes. This is how I stay grounded and centered, and get a better perspective on what I need to work on personally. As I grow as a person, my hope is that I will grow as a writer.
It is hard for any of us to be creative in difficult times. When our creative efforts are focused on finding toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and face masks, writing takes a bit of a back seat. But we need to keep our lives as normal as possible, and for writers that means that we need to continue to write. Continue to write, continue to edit, continue to publish, continue to promote. This is who we are!
(c) May 2020 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.
Writers are essential in these times. People die out, but literature retains what they have thought, felt and seen. Everything I study is from people who are long gone. Write for yourself and it turns out you write for humanity. These are important thoughts.
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