Okay, it's day one of Camp NaNoWriMo and I haven't even announced my project on the website, because I have a million things going on and in all honesty, this kind of crept up on me. I'm an ML, I should know better. I'm a Twitter sprint lead, I should know better. I've been a NaNoWriMo participant since I was sixteen years old, I should really know better, but right now, I don't know better, because this year has been intense.
We're all at very different points in our lives - that's a given. That's an every year occurrence. That's April, July and November every year, but this year is different, because we're also at very different points with this virus. Here in the UK, people are starting to go back to work, things are reopening, but we're still social distancing. The social distance restrictions in place at the moment mean that the London MLs cannot in good conscience invite people to physical meet ups, because as much as our Mental Health has been taking a full frontal assault, we're not willing to put our participants or their loved ones, let alone ourselves, at risk when there is so much we can do online. We're going to focus on that.
That's not the only question of what else are you doing that's being asked though. Some people are furloughed and there's been a really damaging meme heading round the internet which suggests that not coming out of this period with a new skill or a novel finished or something to show for it means that you failed. They could not be more wrong. Whether you have a pre-existing Mental Health condition or not, this has been a tough period. It's not as though our employers just decided to give us a bunch of paid time off - we've essentially been told it is not safe to go outside. That is difficult for anyone. We're also being told it's not safe to see friends and family. There's a little voice that is always there which is saying 'You are not safe' and the only way you can make sure you're safe is to stay at home and don't allow anyone to come to your home. Wash your parcels, wash your grocery delivery, wash your hands until they are raw. This is not an easy time. Yes, that pressure might mean some can write, but there will be a lot of us struggling to get through the day of getting up, getting dressed, doing chores, feeding ourselves and keeping ourselves healthy. If that is the bare minimum you can manage, that is enough. That's a massive achievement in fact, so keep going. If that's a challenge, use nudge theory, or something else that's small steps to get yourself back.
In this time, we also have a whole lot of people who have taken on extra roles (and extra rolls, but let's not talk about that). Maybe you're volunteering for your local food bank, maybe you're assisting elderly family or neighbours. Maybe, like me, you've managed to beg and borrow a sewing machine to get sewing Make It Yourself masks to keep you and your family safe. I don't know about you guys, but I was never furloughed, so I have to find time to do all of my work work, my mask work and all the other bits and pieces of life admin I have to do. The idea of fitting in writing, MLing and Twitter sprinting as well, is exhilarating and exhausting. I'm looking forward to the challenge, but I'm also wondering how on Earth I'm going to juggle it all, but the good thing is that writing a novel is taking a back seat this month to writing a blog each day of whatever length to talk about writing, life and anything else that pops into my head. I hope that you enjoy them. I'm more than happy to discuss them in the comments section below so feel free to leave a message in there or get in touch with me on Twitter.
Catch you later,
Charlieswrite
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