Apr 19

Apr 19 Writing through a crisis

I’ve been reluctant to write about COVID-19 and all the horrors it’s inflicted upon us globally, the least of which being the imposed isolation that’s kept us separated from our friends and family. But it’s been a few weeks now, and one thing that I have noticed is that writers are writing like never before, and they are writing with great urgency.

At a time when we know almost everyone in the arts sector is living on a prayer because they don’t qualify for financial assistance unless they are a sole trader, writers have been working furiously through this crisis.

They might be facing the prospect of being unemployed indefinitely as ex-casual workers, they might be stuck at home with only the occasional trip to Woolies for groceries to break the tedium, but by God are they writing!

I’ve seen so many posts of authors who are writing thousands of words per day, to authors who have completed manuscripts in the last few weeks, to friends who have restarted their morning pages, and aspiring writers who have pulled that secret manuscript out of the ‘one-day’ pile to the ‘must-be-done-today’ list.

It’s inspiring and motivating. And it’s been a wonderful reminder to seize the moment we’ve been given – as sour and difficult as it may be – and do what we can with it to salvage those parts of us that keep the fire lit within and drive us to dream and live with passion.

Because for me, and I know for millions of others who treasure reading and books, that’s what writing and reading represent. Those parts of us that dream big, and deep, and dark and maybe even downright strange. The parts that allow us to express awkwardness and discomfort and pain and joy and love. The parts that give us an escape from the day-to-day routines and chores that suck the pleasure out of life.

Writing is more than just a coping strategy through a crisis. It’s therapy and rationalising and escapism rolled into one. It’s freedom from anxiety and the suffocating anticipation of all the bad to come. It’s release from the convergence of mounting work pressure and homeschooling madness. It’s clawing back time and space for you, and only you.

If you can do nothing else during this unusual time we are living in, and you have always longed to do it, you can write … and maybe even rewrite. (Because you know it’s the rewriting that will take it from a stream of consciousness to a more cohesive piece, and maybe even a whole manuscript.) At worst, it’s a diary entry that helps you express those pent-up feelings and aspirations. At best, it brings a smile to someone else’s face and helps them to forget about their worries for a little while.

And when all this is over and we are back to our crazy type of normal and being run off our feet without a moment to spare, you’ll hopefully find you’ve surpassed that block/negative thinking that had always held you back from your writing.