Covid-19 and the Many Good Reasons to Keep Writing Through the Lockdown

Every curse hides a blessing. Every tragedy can be the fertile ground for a future triumph. Every new challenge brings an opportunity for self-development.

The pandemic that unfolded across the globe in the early months of 2020 would make a surprisingly good case for this point.

And if that sounds a bit sappy… read along and we will reasonably prove otherwise.

At the time of writing, we’re all still a bit torn and scattered and grasping at straws.

Trying to figure out whether or not it’s the end of the world.

Which means this is the perfect time to keep composing articles.

Today, we’re performing a bit of alchemy. We’re going to look at the unfortunate situation around us and find ways to derive meaning.

We’re going to stare down the devil and say:

“Your fear doesn’t suit me; I would rather find a way to create something beautiful out of this ugly mess.”

This is how we’re going to go about doing just that…

[Table of Contents]

1 – Create revenue streams during a time of financial collapse

2 – Now is the right time to plant your best seeds of opportunity

3 – Write as a way to shield yourself from a depressive reality

4 – Connect with others through your writing and help inspire them

5 – Turn your lockdown bunker into an open fortress of creative solitude

6 – Epidemics will come and go, and that’s no excuse to stop writing

Writing is a solitary activity. Is there a better time to write than during a time of Lockdown?

Looking aside the all too natural fear and stress evoked by this unusual situation… you may find many good reasons to turn to your preferred typing device and start putting some words together.

If you observe the situation objectively and suspend your emotions for a moment, you may realize you now have the time and opportunity to do solid writing. At last!

So what is making you lean to fretting rather than writing, in these times of seclusion?

Nothing that can’t be fixed with a little shift in your perspective. That we’re aiming to provoke in you in the course of this article.

There are good reasons to write no matter what your most pressing needs happen to be, at this point:

Writing in times of COVID-19 can be a way to earn some extra revenue immediately, while stuck in social confinement.

If you observe the situation objectively and suspend your emotions for a moment, you may realize you now have the time and opportunity to do solid writing. At last!

You can finally get started working on your personal writing projects that might pay off dividends in the long run.

It can be a powerful self-soothing technique, and you can even direct your words to rekindle connections to people that will help brighten these muddled days.

Directing your energy to writing can be the difference between unfortunate confinement or ecstatic solitude.

This will turn what would otherwise be lost time in captivity… into a time ripe for starting new habits – that can follow you when you’re finally able to go back to the wild.

Writing can be any or all of the above, and that’s entirely up to you. Isn’t that liberating, when you think about it? Isn’t that a rather valuable blessing at a time like this?

No matter which writing outlets suit you best at this point, consider putting on your wordsmith’s cap.

It will be an excellent way to keep your mind away from the surrounding chaos as well as to provide your heart with much needed respite.

Let’s look a little closer at all of these possibilities available directly at your fingertips.

1 – Create revenue streams during a time of financial collapse

Many people out there are in need of additional revenue as result of financial setbacks resulting from the pandemic.

Many businesses out there are beefing up their online activities since at this point, business as usual is not a viable option.

This means there’s both an increase in the demand for content writers, as well as an increase in the available workforce.

A surprisingly perfect combination; it’s a heavenly match made in a hellish situation.

In case you haven’t considered seeking writing job opportunities online during these confined times – maybe you have been allowing the stress and uncertainty of the situation to get under your skin.

That is very much normal and understandable, but it’s something you can change at any given moment.

In fact, you can just open a new browser tab and start looking right now. (Or maybe in just a little while, after you finish reading this article).

Many companies out there are beefing up their online activities – since at this point, business as usual is not a viable option.

Increasing online marketing budgets will translate in increasing opportunities for content writers.

You can hit the online job boards for freelance writing projects, and you will realize they’re brimming with increased offers.

You will find many interesting writing opportunities out there on the Internet, if only you make up your mind and start looking for them.

Even if you have to hit the content mills.

Even if you do a little low-pay writing to get your gears running… or even if you just write for the sake of keeping your fingers warm. Isn’t that a little better than just spending most of the day dwelling in uncertainties and wallowing in fear?

And that’s only a worst case scenario, anyway.

We don’t mean to encourage you to go out and sell your soul to distract yourself from the eminent apocalypse by virus.

We do mean to encourage you to remove your attention from the surrounding chaos, and turn it towards doing constructive activities.

There is a future ahead for us all, so you might as well plan for the long run.

But sometimes, doing a little low-pressure writing can be a good way to get your creative juices flowing and get you excited about more complex endeavors…

2 – Now is the right time to plant your best seeds of habit

Maybe you’ll want to work on a novel.

Maybe you’ll want to start a new website.

Maybe you’ll suddenly get inspired with a new unexpected outlet for your literary ambitions.

You’ll never know until you get back into the swing of writing.

Good things happen to those who plan ahead and do the work.

You know how the saying goes… “Inspiration exists, but it must find you working.” This quote is attributed to the artist Pablo Picasso, but it applies to just about any creative field, writing included.

So why not take these slower days of social isolation, and use them to actually set up a writing habit?

You could very well come out of this unfortunate event with polished skills, renewed motivation and a firmly rooted work routine.

This can be a powerful way to reclaim a semblance of control, during this trying phase we’re all living through.

Chances are you have been spending plenty of time on the computer, for lack of better alternatives, at this time when going out is not an option.
You may have been catching up on your reading. So why not turn to writing, as well?

Write for the sake of doing so, if you haven’t quite decided on a worthwhile project. Write to keep your mind busy and focused on something positive.

The really hard part of any new endeavor is overcoming the initial inertia. It’s quite normal not to feel like writing until you are emotionally invested in a new work.

But you need to remember that emotional investment is what happens when you do something repeatedly.

So invest yourself in what you enjoy doing! Since you likely have time to kill at this point, you might as well put it to good use.

In the worst case scenario, you’ll at least accomplish the valuable feat of detracting your attention from the stress-inducing events unfolding around us, and turn it towards something constructive.

Write for the sake of doing so, if you haven’t quite decided on a worthwhile project. Write to keep your mind busy and focused on something positive.

Start collecting ideas along the way, and proceed as slowly or as vigorously as it suits you best. Plant the seeds of your writing habit now, so they will blossom into the fragrant flowers of opportunity.

By throwing yourself into your writing at this point, you will keep yourself busy doing something you like.

It will help you take your mind off the surrounding doom and gloom, and give you a sense that you’re actually doing something meaningful.

Sure enough, it’s easier said than done. How can one just brush aside the negativity so you can focus your mind in a positive activity? The answer is in the question.

3 – Write as a way to shield yourself from a depressive reality

Let’s face it. There are times when you need to pressure yourself if you want to get things accomplished, otherwise nothing ever gets done.

This is not one of those pragmatic times. This is an uncertain time when you want to focus on enjoying the process, and life one day at a time. Writing will keep you grounded.

It’s a really good time to learn to write for the sake of doing so. It can actually be liberating to set your expectations aside and simply put words together for fun while you bide your time.

There’s a curious paradox at play when it comes to your emotions. The more you resist them, the stronger they get. The more you accept them, the more control you get.

Keeping this in mind, why not write out your emotions? You can do this for your eyes only, or you can choose to publish the results for others to see.

But it’s the simple act of writing about how you feel about something – that’s where the soothing potential is.

You can, with a fell swoop of the pen: tackle your anxiety, kickstart your writing habit, find inspiration that allows you to lock into ideas worth pursuing in your upcoming writing endeavors.

When you take the time to sit down and write through your emotions, rather than being caught up in them… something very interesting happens.

You become increasingly best suited to look at what’s bothering from a rational detached perspective.

You thereby engage the powers of logic, which is when you get a better chance of working through any emotional issues effectively, rather than getting caught up in the emotion.

So if you feel as though it’s impossible to focus on writing during these uncomfortable pandemic times, that feeling could be actually a perfect starting point. Write it through until it’s gone.

You can, with a fell swoop of the pen: tackle your anxiety, kick-start your writing habit, find inspiration that allows you to lock into ideas worth pursuing in your upcoming writing endeavors.

And if you get tired of just writing to yourself about yourself and your feelings, but you don’t yet feel psyched to write creatively, no problem.

There are other enticing and enjoyable writing subjects readily available:

The people you hold dear. Who are also isolated and yearning for some encouragement and support.

What better time than this to use your written words to rekindle human connections that matter to you?

4 – Connect with others through your writing and help inspire them

Spelling out your emotions can be a powerful way to unblock mental anxiety, and make you willing and able to get productive.

By this point, all negativity should begin to subside and you will start to feel like writing. You will be in a somewhat neutral state, but that will be good enough to begin with. Now you can walk. Next up, you’ll seek the motivation to run.

To really spark that creative furnace, you need to interact with people that will energize your creativity and flood you with ideas.

At this point You obviously can’t go out in the open looking for inspiration, as we recommend doing in our Writer’s Block Course, can you? Not personally, you probably can’t.

Spelling out your emotions can be a powerful way to unblock mental anxiety, and make you willing and able to get productive.

If you’ve been feeling depressed from social confinemtn, just set phone calls and video conferences with people that matter to you.

Even better, you can bridge the gap between your socialization needs and your desire to write.

Why speak your words out loud, when you can write them down and make them more meaningful and focused?

When you can’t think of anything that you feel like writing, a good warm-up exercise can be to use the written word to rekindle your human connections and keep in touch with people that inspire you.

This can be as simple as chatting up your contacts casually on instant messaging platforms, or as complex as typing out full-blown letters of appreciation to people that matter to you.

The latter is actually more recommendable if your aim is to get in the swing of writing. It can be uplifting for you, as well as for the person who receives your messages.

Why not keep your correspondence in order, and practice your writing while you seek out human connections that will warm up the seamless strings of days spent in voluntary confinement?

It can make the difference between watching the days go by fruitlessly and watching your productivity steadily climb, your mood consistently lighten, and your days increasingly color with positive emotion and a sense of accomplishment.

5 – Turn your lockdown bunker into an open fortress of creative solitude

Social confinement doesn’t really mean you have to become detached from society…

…not in these fast paced technological days where we all live in a global village, courtesy of the Internet.

Once you put your anxiety in perspective and take the time to rekindle relationships through writing, you will likely run across some ideas you’ll find worth pursuing.

If this were a normal occasion, you would then have to wait for the right time and opportunity to actually be able to sit down and get some serious writing done.

You might even find yourself wishing you would have the time and quietude that is required to really polish those words and make them shine.

Once you put your anxiety in perspective and take the time to rekindle relationships through writing, you will likely run across some ideas you’ll find worth pursuing.

Luckily, you are now in a situation where you do have that opportunity readily available to you. You just have to reframe your perspective ever so slightly:

You’re no longer in confinement to protect yourself from an ominous apocalyptic virus that might very well be the end of us all.

You are now in a position where you can actually spare time and energy to pursue your writing endeavors undisturbed!

This is the dream of every self-respecting writer. It’s not the fame. It’s not the money. It’s the opportunity to focus fully on writing. It has actually been handed to you on a silver platter of circumstance.

You just haven’t noticed yet because you were caught up in the apocalyptic drama.

That’s all too natural, but now is the right time to turn the tides and make this unfortunate situation work for you.

Your best work will happen when you’re absolutely relaxed and the words and ideas flow freely.

If you have been waiting for the right time to focus on writing, you won’t find a better time than this.

6 – Epidemics will come and go, and that’s no excuse to stop writing

It may seem this will last forever, but it really won’t. While this will likely be, for the most part, a markedly quiet and indoorsy kind of year…. time will fly by, as it always does.

Sooner than we know it, the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic will be controlled and lockdown will end.

When that  time comes, you can come out of this with nothing to show for it.

Or you can look back at this time as your transition to a stronger and more fulfilling position, where your writing was finally allowed to take center stage in your life.

Lockdown or otherwise. Covid-19 or whatever the next tragedy might be. You need to start looking at your writing as a coping mechanism.

So if you’re reading this and you’re still confined and bored and depressed, stop right there. Start writing through all those pent up feelings.

The exact same principle applies if life has resumed its normal course, when you happen to read this article.

Lockdown or otherwise. Covid-19 or whatever the next tragedy might be. You need to start looking at your writing as a coping mechanism.

This is how you will be able to really start putting together worthwhile work that will make you happy.

One sentence at a time. One article at a time. One project a time. Building a productive momentum that lifts you away from that hardships of reality – whatever they may be.

There will always be hardships ahead. There will always be something to worry about. There will always be reasons to get depressed.

Now is your perfect opportunity to literally take matters into your own hands, and immerse yourself fully into your writing hands.