{"id":1784,"date":"2020-03-21T11:35:05","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T15:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/?p=1784"},"modified":"2020-03-21T11:35:05","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T15:35:05","slug":"in-search-of-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/21\/in-search-of-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"In Search of \u201cNormal\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>Even if you\u2019ve been living under a rock, if you\u2019re smart you\u2019re probably practicing social distancing $\"\"$ wherever possible right now, washing your hands a lot, and tracking the news on a regular basis. Maybe you are home because your child\u2019s school is shut down, or your employer\u2019s had to close their doors due to the virus. Maybe you\u2019re even in quarantine. With all that\u2019s happened in the last month or two around our world, it\u2019s hard not to be concerned.\n

As someone who runs to the anxious side on a \u201cnormal\u201d day, I\u2019ve been so overwhelmed with the surreality of this crisis that I\u2019ve been unable to write. I haven\u2019t penned a new word or even edited old ones in weeks, and while that lack of contact with my characters is starting to get to me, forcing it isn\u2019t working either. So the Hubenstein and I have been exploring various neighborhoods in our city on long afternoon walks, and binge-watching old episodes of Babylon 5 or Firefly or similar in the evenings, while noshing whatever snacks we have on hand.<\/p>\n

Healthy? I dunno. Maybe. Maybe not, but it\u2019s all I can wrap my brain around right now.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been haunting the constant stream of tweets and posts on the coronavirus via Twitter and Facebook. Too much of it can be an overdose, but I have to admit that I\u2019m glad to know I\u2019m not the only person feeling so overwhelmed by this sudden paradigm shift. Many of my writer pals are in the same boat.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ It doesn\u2019t help that my current WIP is pandemic-based. On the downside, though my WIP\u2019s storyline is very different from our current situation, there are so many similarities that I fear no agent or publisher will want it by the time Earth\u2019s population finds our new normal. I can\u2019t decide whether I should continue working on this one, or put it aside and work on the next one\u2014once I\u2019m able to write again\u2014until such time as this whole ordeal is not so fresh a memory in the minds of future readers.<\/p>\n

On the upside, I\u2019ve now experienced a pandemic first-hand and have seen (am seeing) every day yet another slice of our new reality that could add authenticity to my WIP\u2019s narrative and to my characters\u2019 plight.<\/p>\n

I know, I know. I can hear the reader out there who\u2019s saying, \u201cHow can you be thinking about your WIP at a time like this? Seeing these horrible things playing out around you, how could you even consider them as story fodder? You beast!\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true, at least for me, that my writing comes from real life, sometimes couched in a parable or other symbolic style, sometimes not. I suspect we\u2019d be hard-pressed to find a writer anywhere that wouldn\u2019t feel the same on some level. It\u2019s how we process our experiences, I suppose.<\/p>\n

So to all the writers out there, I say take it as it comes. Write, or not, as the muse dictates, and most important of all, don\u2019t beat yourself up if you can\u2019t keep to a planned schedule. With so much $\"\"$ uncertainty right now, so many harsh things coming to light or crossing our feeds, be kind to yourself. Those words in your head and in your notebooks will still be there when we find some sort of balance in or after all this upheaval. Meanwhile, do what you need to do to get through it.<\/p>\n

And while you\u2019re at it, be kind to others. Because the only way we are going to come through this intact is together.<\/p>\n

Alone, Image by Keenan Constance<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

Masked, Image by rottonara<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p>\n

Be Kind, Photo by reneebigelow<\/a> on Pixabay<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"