COVID-19 and writing

Discussion in 'General Writing' started by deadrats, Mar 17, 2020.

  1. AussieNick

    AussieNick Member

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    So after my state went into a shutdown (non-essential businesses closed, school holidays started early), I decided to start keeping a journal of how things are going. So far my life hasn't been impacted that much since I usually stay at home anyway, but I'm keeping record of as much of what's going on in the world as I can until this thing ends. I'm considering getting stories from other people who've been more impacted by the pandemic than I am. I don't know if it's ever something that I'm going to publish, but it's easy for me to work on because it's impossible to get current events out of your mind completely.

    I also started planning a book about the aftermath of a fictional pandemic. Most of the plot would take place after the outbreak is over and the world is starting the process of getting back to normal, but with each main character I'd have a few flashback scenes to what they experienced during the pandemic. For example, one character is a cop who shoots and kills a looter in self-defence, while another character is part of that same group of looters who accidentally kills someone while fighting over food, and another is a doctor in an overflowing hospital who's forced to decide which patients get treatment and which patients don't. This pandemic is giving a lot of insight into how people respond to a crisis like this, so I can develop things as I go. Since this virus is a source of constant worry at this point, I'd like to at least channel that worry into something productive.
     
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  2. dbesim

    dbesim Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor

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    TBH, I didn’t realise how difficult this task was until I finally got round to it. All I got so far is a first draft of some kind of beginning of a story. It’s fiction but after writing it, I let it rest for days and days and days. Guess I just do not want to pick up that pen and carry on. I do feel like these times do need to be represented. It’s just a little difficult to confront at the moment. But I’ll try to get to it again. Eventually.

    My story so far touches on what self-isolating must be like for children.
    To be told not to go to school. And how they’re dealing with having not to see their friends anymore. However, it’s also about how frustrating it is for grown ups having to look after them. But actually, it’s not just about kids, but people of every generation. It’s a bit rubbish. But I have a basis of an idea I could improve upon. Certainly.
     
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  3. Lew

    Lew Contributor Contributor

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    Well, Karen and I are nominally high risk, both of us over 70. She had breast cancer last year, but THANK GOD no chemo or radiation, so her immune system isn't too compromised. I had back surgery last year but that was mechanical, and I guess we both trust our immune systems to do the fine job they have been doing for the past 72 years. In short, we are kind of blase about this.
    I retired in December so the shelter in place has not been much of an issue, other than not being able to enjoy eating dinner pub style at the bar at our favorite restaurant, or going to the gym. Though Karen continued her gym work through yesterday with her trainer. However that has now been cancelled. I get my 20 mile bike rides in - plenty of social distancing there - but Fri I broke a spoke and had to have the wheel repaired.

    I am about 130K words into the sequel to E&D, about half done (E&D was 240K words), and getting someone now to review an unfinished draft. Karen is nearly finished with the first draft of her sequel to Ruby. Her doctor was wounded when his jeep hit a landmine in August 44, so the Royal Army released him to the States with a badly damaged leg. Between the two of us, she is the much more disciplined about wrting, but I am the much more about marketing. I had a good presentation on Roman Maritime Trade at the National Maritime Historical Society , in Westchester NY of all places on Feb 22 () but after six weeks, still symptom free. It was well-received, and I was invited to presnet it again at their national meeting in Philadelphia in May, but that is on hold. Both our books are selling extremely well, so apparently lots of people are taking the time to read. And I had a physics presentation https://www.facebook.com/groups/RidingOnALightBeam/?source_id=245650645781133, that I was going to present in March at the Chesapeake section of the American Association of Physics Teachers in March, but that was cancelled. So perhaps @jerseyrunner, you might want to critique that.

    I did some skull sessioning with Karen over my latest plot-hole in my writing over a glass of wine last night, and she gave me a brilliant idea, which I need to put to paper. Fortunately, liquor stores are considered essential businesses in MD, though today they started doing drive-through only.

    So, life continues normally. Don't think I don't take this seriously. I follow this on a daily basis, and what concerns me most is that cases and deaths are both doubling every week. With 850,000 cases worldwide and 42,000 deaths as of today, that will not take much longer to reach some truly apocalyptic numbers, 12M cases and 640K dead by the end of April. So everyone, stay safe, stay distant, wash hands, because right now, there is not much else you can do.
     
  4. dbesim

    dbesim Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Hello Lew!

    Well, I had plenty of time to spare since I’ve been self-isolating and everything, so I decided to put it to good use and watch your lecture. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to learn very much from it but I was pleasantly surprised. History was always a subject close to my heart when I was in school and consequently I found your lecture on trade during the Roman times extremely interesting. What I found particularly intriguing was the way they navigated using astronomy and the zodiac sign (of all things) and the architecture of their ships. A compass seems to have solved all our problems nowadays and I guess has made the art of navigating a lot less competitive. It was interesting to find out that without a compass within reach, they all had their own secretive ways to navigate so that their ship would be first one to reach the eastern port.

    Also the end part about the smallpox pandemic from China eventually leading to the economic collapse of the empire sounds almost similar to a certain pandemic happening in the world right now. :superwink:

    Is this therefore the area of informed history that your fictional novels are based around?

    I’m grateful you shared this lecture with the forums that gives us a good excuse to wile away our (self-isolating) time.
    thank you for sharing it
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2020
  5. Dorafjol

    Dorafjol Member

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    Funnily enough, I actually work more now than before. My old job had to close down, but I'm hired by a small hospital/clinic, making sure no infected come in needlessly. They used to have a drop in system, but it's all appointment now. The ones who have a serious health problem AND show signs of the infection, I'll have to lead to a secluded part of the building. Given how gung-ho Sweden is about all this, it's nice to see that the hospitals are at least taking it seriously.

    Despite all that, I have a lot of dead time, and I use that for writing/arranging music. In conclusion I have less free time, but I write more.
     
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  6. Rani99

    Rani99 Member

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    I haven't written anything in a long time and I wasn't even trying. Everything somehow distracted me from it, but mostly I was afraid of failure. So after a week of quarantine, I started to write again and it seems to me that after all, it's gonna be a novel not a short story. It's just so peaceful and quiet around here. Mostly I am alone all day and I'm lacking social interactions so I started writing in order to compensate that. As an introvert I have never felt so alone as I do right now, even missed my most annoying friends. At least in my story I can get out of my house.
     
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  7. Lew

    Lew Contributor Contributor

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    Thank you @dbesim, glad you enjoyed it. Actually, one of the people in the lecture referred me to another book, The Fate of Rome by Kyle Harper, which elaborated on the role of climate change (global cooling following the Roman Climate Optimum, about as warm as today @100AD) and disease, included both the smallpox plague and an apparent Spanish Flu-like influenza around 252AD. So I hope you will take an opportunity to read the Eagle and the Dragon, and take an adventurous tour through the world of 100AD. After all, plenty of time to read!
     
  8. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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  9. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    Thank you for sharing, this is pretty great.

    Right now, even though my hours have been cut at my one job, and my bar job has been closed altogether, I've still been too busy cleaning up all the little fires that have been sprouting up among my family and friends to get any more than the regular amount of writing done. I may be going into quarantine soon, though. Have a family emergency that requires me to mosey my way halfway away across the continent, green beret my way across a couple of borders and quite possibly cut a b****. Either way, my boss isn't entirely sure it'd be a good idea for me to go back to work right away after I get back.
     
  10. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

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    Golly, just what I need, another course, right?
    :supercheeky:
    I just might sign up, since I can't pass up a deal.

    Though, saying that, I feel guilty that I can carry on when others are sick and dying--- even though I know none of them personally (so far) and can't do anything for them.

    It's what I call "keeping the plane in the air with my nervous stomach."

    More useful that I should write.
     
  11. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

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    Is that after you put in your credit card info? Hmm.

    EDIT--- Oops, nope, I found the coupon code box. All's well.
     
  12. A.M.P.

    A.M.P. People Buy My Books for the Bio Photo Contributor

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    I just picked it up myself as I was just thinking how lame it is that even with quarantine in effect I am still not writing as often as I want to.
    Might as well try and change my mindset a bit.
     
  13. dbesim

    dbesim Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I will certainly consider that. I’ve put it on my amazon wish list already. And I’m thinking about getting it on kindle. Seems very interesting! But I’ve also got a bunch of writing to do while I’m burning time.. and I have to get around to doing that too! :p
     
  14. Aaron Smith

    Aaron Smith Banned Contributor

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    The quarantine has given me the serenity to confront some of my demons and put them onto paper, and I believe it has resulted in some of my best writing yet. But that might just be because it is meaningful to me.
     
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  15. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    I found that before I caught the virus I was too worried and restless to accomplish anything, but once I had got it and recovered I was at peace, no need to be afraid of it anymore.
     
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  16. Lew

    Lew Contributor Contributor

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    GLad you recovered!
     
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  17. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    Thanks! So am I!
     
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  18. Rzero

    Rzero Reluctant voice of his generation Contributor

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    If I'd known y'all were doing this, I would have weighed in days ago. Yes. It's affecting my writing. This is the most productive period I've experienced in almost a year, maybe better than that even. That last time was after my business folded, and I stayed at home for a few months, only this time, I'm not crushingly depressed about being a failure. We'll see how long it lasts, but I'm the opposite of stir crazy right now. I'm loving the solitude, even as I hate and fear the cause.

    As far as effects on my stories, oddly enough, it was the first mentions of the disease, back when we were all sure it was another SARS that would fizzle out before the tragedy went global, that added an element to a future WIP I'm still outlining. I decided there should be an outbreak. I had no idea I would end up with real material on which to draw inspiration. I won't be getting to the actual writing of that story for a few years, I'm sure, and I hope this passes without getting significantly worse. Either way, I hope to make it a healing element or a proper remembrance, not a rehash of horror close to home.
     
  19. Murkie

    Murkie Active Member

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    This is amazing, thank you for sharing.

    I got furloughed from my 9-5 today. Not a major drama for me, I live in the UK and the government is doing a decent job with the the employee retention scheme. I know I'm lucky and I want to make the best use of my time, so this this course will be very helpful!
     
  20. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I recently handed in my piece about the coronavirus and it was well received by magazine staff. It will be published in a month or two. I did struggle with just what to write. I had already pitched it and it was accepted, but I wasn't really sure what the story was until I started writing and playing around with this. I ended up writing a few essays before the one I turned in. That's not something I usually do with an idea. And, though I am essentially writing about doing nothing, I found countless ways to approach the material -- life in the time of COVID-19. And now it's sort of hit me that I will likely be writing about this again and maybe many times. I consider myself an essayist as much or more so than I do any other sort of writer. There is sort of a calling in all this to really get to work.

    I hope all you writing friends are staying healthy and safe. I am grateful to be a part of this community in a time of isolation and lonesomeness.
     
  21. Rzero

    Rzero Reluctant voice of his generation Contributor

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    Me too. I'm spending more time here than I ever have before. It especially makes me feel less isolated on the days my kid is with his mom. It's just me and the dog on those days, and the dog is a terrible conversationalist.

    I'm also getting more writing done. I'm up almost 10k on my WIP. I hadn't touched it in almost a year, so I spent two weeks going back through what I had and ended up with an extra k or so in tweaks. I don't generally get much work done when my son is here, so that was seven or eight sessions. Since then, I've added well over 8k in eleven more sessions. I've never written so much in my life! I hope this doesn't go on much longer, but if we're all stuck for a few more months, at least I'll have a first draft at the end of it.
     
    Last edited: Apr 8, 2020
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  22. X Equestris

    X Equestris Contributor Contributor

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    School getting cancelled means I have to put on my teacher's hat to help with distance learning. The work load isn't quite as heavy as I feared it would be, but it's disruptive enough to keep me from getting into any sort of rhythm. Thus, my writing time has been focused on editing some shorter works or submitting work that's ready to go instead of starting anything new.
     
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  23. cosmic lights

    cosmic lights Contributor Contributor

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    I'm writing a book called "Covid Idiots" about the three families on this estate ignoring the social distancing and lock down rules. These people make me so angry. Might post it to them, lol.
     
  24. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    I'm writing crime thriller set during the lock down... working title social distance .. 14k words and change so far
     
  25. Wild Knight

    Wild Knight Senior Member

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    I wish that I had seen this sooner.

    I stayed in a lot of the time anyway, but seeing less people out and about is kind of creepy, and getting to me.
    We're not mandated to stay in, but I'm going to treat it as if I am.
    This is the first time in a while I've started a physical diary, and it exists for the sole purpose of keeping track of the changes, big and small, that happen in this town.
    I saved a lot more money than I would have been able to, because my sister and I are reducing our shopping to every two weeks to stock up.
    I just hope that we'll be more than prepared for when and if this state shuts down.
    As for how this affects my writing, well... I've found that I can't delve deeply enough into fantasy.
    My usual works of freedom and rebellion are turning into the opposite, because I can't get my mind to traveling right now.
     

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