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An Author’s Guide to Surviving Quarantine

I kind of like the world shutting down. We should do it more often. 
Since I’ve been off work (and gloriously free from all social obligations) I’ve been feeling oddly motivated. I kind of enjoy breaks in routine, and learning to adjust to strange conditions, so this hasn’t been as trying for me as it might be for some. 

Of course, it won’t be the same for everybody, but for me, this downtime has triggered my enthusiasm for Getting Things Done™ and I’ve been able to clear my head a bit in the middle of all this. I’ve seen a lot of encouragement going around the internet for people to get into this mindset, but also for people to not force themselves to be highly productive and beat themselves up for feeling unmotivated.

I’m not saying everybody needs to be highly productive every day. Our worldly expectations have been removed. Our time is our own, to use as we actually want to and need to use it. For me, that means doing what refreshes me most—creating.
In this time of social distancing and boredom, for a lot of people, go ahead and make a list of the things you want to prioritize. Your list will look different than mine. But I thought if I posted some of my items here, it might inspire you and help you brainstorm what you might like to do with this time.

·         Journal about this experience Not every day. Maybe just an entry or two. I’m not much of a journal-keeper, to be honest. But I think this would be a great time to record my personal experiences and thoughts, since this is, in fact, a historic event that I and others will probably want first-hand accounts of in the future.

·         Catch up on my bible-reading I was doing really well and moving right along in January and February, but all my reading kind of slowed down in March, for unknown reasons. I’d like to get back into reading both the bible and other books during my free time.

·         Camp NaNoWriMo There’s a Camp NaNoWriMo event in April, and I’m kind of I the middle of it right now. I’m editing Dronefall 4, Nightstare, which is really quite a handful. I’ve never edited for a NaNo event before, so this is new to me. Not sure that I’ll work all the way through the second draft in April, but here’s to trying.

·         Finish out an old sketchbook and start a new one I’ve been really working on my drawing lately, and am nearing the end of a sketchbook I started years ago. I have a brand-new one waiting for me, and I can’t wait to get started on it.

·         Write some poetry I haven’t written much poetry since I published Songs from the Small Hours, and, April being Poetry Month, I thought I might make that a priority. After all, I would like to put out another collection soon.

·         Various other artistic pursuits Woodburning, painting, art journaling, origami—I have a lot of things I’d like to improve on.

So, I hope you have some ideas of how you’d like to spend your extra time now. Most importantly, relax. Reconnect with your family. Take time to deepen your faith. Watch some good movies. Listen to some good music. Read some good books. (The Dronefall Series is all 99c in ebook, and free on Kindle Unlimited 😉) 
Stay home, stay healthy, and take this crisis for what it could be—a blessing in disguise.

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