Stress and uncertainty are the worst mix for a writer.

It’s hard to focus on creative endeavors when you’re locked in your house indefinitely, unsure if things will ever go back to “normal.” For years I wrote off writer’s block as a myth. It seemed that the “blocked” writer I knew were really just distracted or scared to work on their projects and used the “block” as a way to excuse not writing.

I don’t know why any writer allows themselves to be held to this idea that we have to write all the time. Sure it’s great to “write everyday” but that’s not always realistic, especially when things are just weirder than ever.

If you can’t write right now, well, duh. No one knows what the hell is going on or where this will all lead.

Do what you have to do to keep going.

BUT…

(You had to know this was coming. I mean, it’s ME who’s typing. heehee)

Now may be the hardest time to write, but it’s the most important. It’s not often that anyone is gifted with extra time when things are rough, and extreme emotion drives inspiration-even if it’s unrecognizable most of the time.

I’ve been having to force myself to write.

My work ethic is usually: Do! Do! Do! But lately it’s been: Oh no, I don’t think I can do this.

Every time I sit down to get going it takes a lot of revving up. I have to push out the first sentence and keep making the words come. It takes a lot of energy to get going, and I am not used to this AT ALL, but once my hands are warmed up my brain snaps back into the meditative writer mode and things go back to their usual pace. The flow is more difficult to find, but it’s still there waiting to be tapped into.

Whether it’s writing, painting, singing, dancing, or throwing seeds at birds hobbies and art forms remind us of what’s missing in life while also pointing out the beauty hiding in those gaps.

We can’t forget that.

Writing is an old friend. One that I need more than ever, and our readers need us way more than we could possibly understand.

Even if it’s just 15 minutes, or 1 page, this period in time will matter when it’s over.

No one should put themselves or their aspirations on hold just because life has changed. Adversity is the test of dedication and persistence. Those of us who have faced it before are not letting up now.

I’ve spent a lot of my life having to keep going even when there was little to nothing left. It’s not easy, but writing should never be a cakewalk. It’s hard. It’s work. It’s art and it’s love.

We have to fight for what we love. We need to fight for ourselves.