Corona Happened
Y’all are probably sick of posts like this that have been popping up since March, maybe even as early as February, but when I started this blog portion of my site, I wanted to be completely transparent with my writing journey.
If you follow me on Instagram, you probably will already know how my quarantine has been, so my apologies if this is repetitive for you.
If you follow me in general, across my platforms, you may have noticed that I basically ghosted the online community. March and the news of Covid-19 becoming a global pandemic was a whirlwind of problem solving, unknowns, and trying to keep my shit together.
So both my lovely spouse and I are considered high risk due to medical reasons. For J, they are able to work from home whenever necessary and shifted their hours to only first shift. J’s work also started Covid precautions/prevention procedures early – temperature checks at the door, sanitizing stations everywhere, 6 ft separation at work stations, etc.
My work on the other hand, was and still is trying to figure out what the best procedures to implement. There was a massive furlough and I fortunately didn’t get cut. Being the only graphic designer for the entire company means I have job security. But the problem was working from home is frowned upon. I had to get a doctor’s note in order to work from home.
It was an interesting transition going from my work environment to a working from home environment, but I quickly found that I was made to work from home. I love it. I’m so much more productive working from my home office than at my cube.
So one problem solved, but it brought up a new problem: How to transition from work to home and from work to writing work.
I’m still trying to figure that transition part out but now that it’s May, I feel closer to the solution, or at least something that works. I feel like I’m not treading water anymore, but I am starting to doggie paddle in the right direction.
So while all of this was going on, April’s Camp NaNoWriMo was going on. I’m an ML (municipal liaison) for a region in WI. In January/February, I had lined up all our Write In’s at our usual spots only to have to cancel them in March and figure out how to move my region fully digital. Luckily my regulars in my region are a fucking Godsend and were very helpful. We set up Zoom links for all our Write In’s, I emailed the region weekly newsletters, and brought our Instagram back up for daily inspiration.
But the majority of us couldn’t write during the month of April. Most of our Write Ins were just talking – catching up with each other and connecting with people outside our quarantined lives. I felt that that connection was more important than actual writing. In a time of unknowns and over-information from the media, we didn’t know what to do and just needed connect.
I know I felt that way.
So to answer the question that is the title of this blog: What happened to April’s Camp NaNoWriMo? Nothing Happened. Corona-induced anxiety happened.
I didn’t write any quality work in April. I would stare at my screen and move words around, rewrite sentences, futz with ideas. But none of it had my heart in it. Eventually I just gave up. I felt extremely guilty about that because I thought I would be so fucking productive during quarantine, especially since I was working from home.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
In the early weeks of May I think I started to accept that it was okay not to be productive all the time and just taking care of yourself – physically, emotionally, and mentally – needed to take priority over being productive. That shift and throwing my plans out the window, gave me a boost and I actually looked at my storyboards this week.
I’m hoping that July’s Camp NaNo experience will be better than April’s. But at this point, any writing experience will be better than April’s.
I hope y’all are staying safe.
– K.
K. Daniels 