You have been going to your local coffee shop like Starbucks to write. Or maybe you enjoy writing at local library. Then all of a sudden the Coronavirus hits. You are thrusted into writing in an environment you don’t want to write in. You have to write at home, which isn’t always good, especially when aggravation rises from being cooped up with your family. When you are in lockdown and can’t go to where you want to go, it sucks. Then things started opening up and you could write outside, but that leads to swatting at flies, dodging bees, or running away from spiders. Safe to say, you have trouble concentrating during this time. So what do you do? How do you keep your confidence up in a time that doesn’t look good?
With any lockdown situation, you have to make the best of a worst situation. This is what Joe’s Writers’ Club did. What turned into an in-person meeting became an online presence. The meeting stayed open and we continued to meet virtually. We started Google Chats with each other and used other means of communication such as Zoom. Everyone has been working hard at putting a product out there that can help writers of all kinds.
Joe’s Writers’ Club has improved my confidence. It has helped me to work and contribute to a cause greater than my own. Even with Corona going on, it didn’t stop me as a writer. It was just a matter of facing the storm. Sometimes as a writer we have to get comfortable writing somewhere new. Times are rough right now, but if your family is interrupting your writing, you can use a pair of headphones to avoid their distraction. I know it’s not easy, but sooner or later things will get better.
You probably had a favorite place that went to everyday, and unfortunately, some businesses closed down permanently. Maybe even your favorite coffee shop. But it’s best to not get discouraged. You will find a new place when this pandemic is over. And you may have to try different places to find out which one feels best for you. For now, that’s not so easy. Lots of places, like Starbucks, are still not allowing people to stay inside for long periods of time. So unless you’ve found comfort at home or in a park, writing hasn’t been the easiest.
Thankfully, the worst may have passed with all of the vaccines that have been administered. (I’m not saying if getting vaccinated is right or wrong; that decision is yours to make.) All I’m saying is maybe in time we will write where we did before, but as of now with a writer it is a matter of learning to be comfortable writing in uncomfortable places. It just takes stepping out of your comfort zone to get to the point where you feel at ease. Maybe a library is open. Maybe you can sit outside a coffee house. Just don’t lose hope. Things will get better.