An End To 2020 - What Do We Take With Us, What Do We Leave Behind

 

We are one week into December of 2020. It is time to think about how to properly say goodbye to this roller-coaster of a year. The politics, the health crisis, the truths, the lies ... they are all part of reality for every one of us. Cussing the year out is not going to do us any good. Whining is not going to do us any good. Here are some things that we might want to consider:

• Going into 2020 we had no idea that we were going to face a health crisis of global, pandemic proportions.
• We had no idea that the truth of the health crisis would be hidden from us.
• We had no idea that we would be facing empty shelves in our supermarkets. That we would be out of TP, napkins, flour and so many other essential items.
• We had no idea that hospitals would be innundated with desperately ill people. 
• We had no idea that our mortuaries would be over-run, and that bodies would be stacked in refrigerator trucks.
• We had no idea that we would be locked out of the nursing homes that our family members were in.
• We had no idea of the concept of wearing masks, social distancing, of limited capacity in our stores, of limited capacity for socializing anywhere. 
• We were not able to celebrate holidays with our families.
• We could not visit family members that were seriously ill in the hospital, and that essentially died alone.
• We could not celebrate weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, or other social events.
• Traveling became questionalbe.
• People began to work from home. 
• Distant schooling became (somewhat) the norm.
• We did more online ordering.
•  Sporting events were cancelled, and when they began again, it was with a limitied (or no) spectator audience.
•  Many people suddenly found themselves unemployed.

But we might also want to consider: 

• Many businesses and sports groups adjusted their ability to produce, and they helped bring to the market necessary things like masks, hand sanitizer and breathing machines,
• Working from home appears to be the way to go in the future.
• The home delivery business is booming ... and appreciated.
• Personal shoppers are becoming a way of life in supermarkets.
• Vaccines are being developed to help deal with the COVID virus.
• The US elections are over, and we look to be entering a new era of responsibility and attention to the needs of the people. 

Going into 2021, we want to remember to give thanks for the lessons of 2020, and that we survived the year. We saw the worst in people, now we want to see the best in people. 

What are you releasing from 2020? What are you taking into 2021 to set the foundation for the year? How is this affecting your writing? Are you self-published, or do you work with a publisher? If you work with a publisher, are they changing how they do business due to the current financial climate? 

Wishing you a strong end to 2020, and a strong beginning to 2021!

(c) December 2020 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author. 

How Has 2020 Been Treating You?

How has 2020 been treating you as a writer? With the pandemic in full force globally, and politics raging here in the U.S., it has been a bit difficult to focus on writing projects. At least it has been for me. I write two monthly professional newsletters, do the occasional blog, and the occasional review, and have two writing projects in mind - one of which I am actually working on, and should have up on Amazon by the end of the year. I had hoped to have a short, book-length cozy mystery out for Christmas, but that is;t going to happen. I will write one in December of this year, but it won't be published until November of 2021. I will do that each year - write a short Christmas-oriented mystery to be published in the coming year.  

For those of us that self-publish, that venue is still available. For those that had books being developed by publishing companies, that might be another story. The pressure around us can easily lead to writer's block, loss of productivity, frustration, and anxiety. We may be dealing with working from home (unless we already worked from home, as I do). We may be dealing with other family members being home, and their energy interrupting our focus on work. We may be dealing with family crisis due to COVID-19. We may simply be frustrated at not being able to get a haircut, to have dinner out, or go see a show. 

We cannot travel for research, so we have to depend on the Internet. Sometimes we cannot keep our daily routines. We are not able to meet people, to interact, to have the experiences that feed our creative nature. Do we want to write about the pandemic? Personally, I do not. I may reference it in stories and books years from now, but the shock is too fresh for me to want to write about the pandemic while it is happening.

Entering 2021 we will see multiple vaccines becoming available for COVID-19. We see a new administration in the White House here in the U.S., and we see ourselves adapting to a "new normal". Whatever that "new normal" is, we will experience it and write about it. The year 2020 hit everyone hard - we need to incorporate its lessons, reprioritize our lives, and move forward.

(c) November 2020 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.