by Rebecca Yauger, @RebeccaYauger
When you set your goals at the beginning of 2020, I bet you never expected this. A worldwide virus, spreading like wildfire, requiring us to shelter-in-place, with schools, churches, and businesses closed, and spouses and kids home for the duration.
What has the pandemic done to your writing schedule? Are you still inspired and feeling motivated to write more? Or with the disruption in our lives, are you finding yourself doing anything else but writing? Do you feel like your stories are unimportant in light of what’s happening in the world?
If you’re not writing, and feeling overwhelmed with both home and worldwide situations, don’t beat yourself up about it. This pandemic is nothing like we’ve seen before, at least in my lifetime. There’s no way to determine how you’re going to react to this. Or know what the best way is to cope with your feelings.
For me personally, I’m not as motivated to write these days. But as I adjust to our new normal, with my husband now working from home, I’m trying to include writing back into my schedule. I think it’s important to keep going. Even if I don’t work on my blog or on my fiction, then journaling through these turbulent times will do me good. Maybe via journaling, we can let go of some of the fear, maybe we can make our prayers stronger, and develop a closer relationship with our God.
The world has turned upside down. And perhaps the goals we set at the beginning of the year seem frivolous in light of what’s going on in the world. But our writing still matters. Even if you only journal, or write prayers to God, or if you find yourself filled with urgency to complete what you’ve started, our writing still matters.
God is still here, and the world will come out of this pandemic. We may have a new normal and have changed our ways, and after that, more than ever, readers will want our stories. Don’t quit. Your writing matters, today more than ever.
Rebecca Yauger worked for 15 years in radio and television broadcasting, before starting on her writing career. She’s been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul and Guideposts Magazine and continues to scribble away on various projects. She also blogs at www.TalkingAmongFriends.com. Becky was past Vice-President and Membership Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (www.acfw.com), and currently serves as ACFW’s Web Manager. Becky and her husband live near Dallas, have two grown children, and two beautiful grandchildren.