My head is a jumble. One would think threatening confinement to your home for an extended period of time in order to be socially responsible and slow the spread of COVID-19 would be a positive thing for a writer… but I’ll be sharing my confinement space with two directionless, out-of-school teenagers and an over achiever, restless husband.
I write best with purpose. I only write successfully at home with the television off and my family engaged elsewhere. Although I do enjoy writing in cafes and restaurants with the rare hour or two I can squeeze out of a day; enjoying the presence of people who ask nothing of me.
I thrive on writing retreats. Either retreats planned by similar writers who need to escape their busy lives to squirrel away time to write (thank you Ascribe members) or professional retreats where the leaders inspire and pull out your very best while giving you the permission, time and inspirational location to write (thank you Writescape) and finally I write pages and pages at an annual fundraising event that works for me as a writing retreat; the Muskoka Novel Marathon where we write for three days to raise money for adult literacy (thank you to the organizers, volunteers, sponsors and fellow cheering writers).
I am choosing to believe that knowing how I am most successful in my writing is powerful. In the past I have scheduled writing retreats through the year to inspire the time to write larger chunks. These opportunities may be at risk in order to slow the spread of a virus that threatens our society’s immunocompetent members and if allowed, could overwhelm our health care system.
In the last few days, special events I’ve been looking forward to have been cancelled. The gusts that filled my sails were the moments where I imagined arriving at my writing retreat and curling up on the couch in a tiny cottage with kindred writing spirits to prod each other into putting words onto the page. Now, I feel as though the air is leaking from my pitiful water wings, and the sharks are circling, as emails come in suggesting delays or possible cancellations of our writing meetings and we may not have a resort to host our retreat.
The time has come to focus on a plan. Self-confinement is the neighbourly, socially responsible thing to do and there is no doubt I need to ensure the next weeks are good for my family, but I also need to ensure my time is productive and inspirational for me as a writer.
As this is a writer’s blog, I am going to focus on the steps to inspiring greatness and success in my writing life through this period of unprecedented (in my lifetime) change. However, I want to be clear that we as a family are also going to commit to setting goals for the next weeks, to adhere to a healthy routine, to support and love each other and keep our home clean and our bodies healthy. We are going to shop responsibly and avoid large group gatherings to help slow the spread of this virus.
SETTING GOALS
Not only are we going to sit down as a family and list out personal goals, I am going to make a list of my writing goals. Having a goal post, a direction and declaring these goals to my supportive writing friends and my family will hold me accountable.
COMBATING PERFECTIONISM
I will not allow perfectionism to feed my procrastination. Looking on the bright side, self-isolation means less people coming over. I am so glad you cannot see the mayhem that is my home. The dishes will still be there, the dust balls floating in the corners will wait and the laundry in the basket can continue to replicate. I am worthy of time and my writing deserves my attention. The house doesn’t need to be spotless to set aside an hour to write. I can start, even if everything isn’t perfect.
We need to set aside perfectionism. Allow yourself and your writing to be vulnerable, to be imperfect, and relatable in order to share the human experience. Don’t let your fear of not being good stop you from being at all.
EMBRACE THE GIFT OF TIME
For the next weeks, instead of my writing floundering and wilting, I am going to water and nurture. I am choosing to see this period of a less rushed, less scheduled time where we toss the calendar aside, as an opportunity. I will gain at least an hour a day of time I routinely spent driving kids to their events. I am choosing to harness this time into writing.
There doesn’t appear to be much optimism on social media right now but we need to take this time and consider it a gift. A precious time to reconnect with close family, to slow down and to choose a direction for ourselves.
Stay healthy. Support each other. Keep writing.
