{"id":2015,"date":"2020-07-07T12:28:48","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T16:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/?p=2015"},"modified":"2020-07-07T12:44:38","modified_gmt":"2020-07-07T16:44:38","slug":"in-search-of-normal-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/07\/in-search-of-normal-2\/","title":{"rendered":"In Search of “Normal”"},"content":{"rendered":"

{NOTE: I wrote this in mid-March, but never posted it. Even now, months later, I’m surrounded by people who refuse to wear masks or socially distance themselves. One man came into my office at work and, seeing me wearing a mask, made a disgusted face and said, shaking his head, “Really? A mask?”<\/em><\/p>\n

Some things never change. Despite the fact that infection rates have risen in cities where reopening happened too soon or too incautiously, there will always be people who believe things like the risk of COVID-19 are “fake news” designed to keep us afraid. This virus has already altered how we live (or at least, it should have), and will probably incite more adjustments in the months to come.<\/em><\/p>\n

But some things do change. With all that’s happened in 2020\u2014the Black Lives Matter protests, the call to \"\"recognize equal rights for trans people, a spotlight on the enormous wealth disparity in the U.S., so many other essential and necessary movements\u2014we seem to be surrounded by upheaval on a daily basis now. Many of us who feel these volatile emotions in a deep, empathic way have been in shock. When I wrote this, I was unable to write much of anything. Since that time, I wrote a short story\u2014one that may never see the light of day\u2014which broke the freeze for me. Afterward, I was able to finish revisions on my WIP and send it out to my many gracious beta readers (thanks, y’all!).<\/em><\/p>\n

While this post was written in the early days of U.S. infections, much of it remains relevant. I post it now to show others who shared my concern and my frozen state: you were\/are not alone.}<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n

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 has 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.<\/p>\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

Black Lives Matter, Image by Mike Von<\/a>\u00a0on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Masked Man, Image by gryffyn m<\/a>\u00a0on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

Be Kind, Photo by reneebigelow<\/a>\u00a0on Pixabay<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

{NOTE: I wrote this in mid-March, but never posted it. Even now, months later, I’m surrounded by people who refuse to wear masks or socially distance themselves. One man came into my office at work and, seeing me wearing a mask, made a disgusted face and said, shaking his head, “Really? A mask?” Some things…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-posts","category-on-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-wv","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4531,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/05\/an-elf-with-no-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":2015,"position":0},"title":"An Elf With No Name","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Spires Saga, Book 1 By Mortimer Langford \u00a9 2022, Next Chapter ASIN: B0BJZ3NYLY Kindle Version, file size 2693 KB What a fun story! 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