Writing in the Time of Covid (Not to Be Confused with Love in the Time of Cholera)

Living with Covid-19 has changed a lot of things. We can just file that statement under "Things Captain Obvious would say." For writers, it has changed the way we interact with fans, publishers, and other writers. 

Gone are the conventions. Now they're super spreader events we aim to avoid. Gone are the "regular days" without spouses and kids at home when we might normal write. 

For a look at some of the specifics, I turns to three of my fave indie writers, Nancy Hansen, Bill Craig, and Jenny Reed. 

How have the changes that Covid brought to gathering and going places changed your writing routine (if at all)?

Nancy Hansen: Honestly, it really didn't change much for me. I write at home at least 5 days a week as it is anyway. Sometimes more. When I couldn't see the extended family, we kept in touch via cell phone and the camera on my tablet, and I used whatever extra time I had to get in more writing. Since I'm now somewhat disabled, I'm used to being home most of the time, so that doesn't faze me. I blogged a little more consistently. Overall; life went on.

Bill Craig: I jumped to a totally new genre for what will be my first book of 2021. Ravens Hollow is a horror novel set in a pre-covid world.

Jenny Reed: My spouse now works from home, which affects my routine in this fashion:

I USED to have a whole swath of day spouse-free, and while I might get interrupted by dogs, trolls, phone calls, or facebook PMs, these were almost always non-urgent optional things which I could quickly answer and get rid of or even outright ignore if they were inconvenient. (Calls from mom at the most inconvenient times excluded, of course. You cannot ignore your mother, not if you like surviving, anyway.)

NOW, if my spouse wants to take a break, then I must take a break. If my spouse is in the mood for a snack, then I must be. And I better not be in the mood for a snack when my spouse isn't, unless I wish to send a secret signal that it is snack time to my spouse. There is no warning time when my spouse is done working for the day (used to be called the commute, and I'd get a facebook message giving me a countdown... no longer).

On the other hand, there used to be the occasional dog issue that I had to drop everything and deal with right now. This is no longer my problem; my spouse will go deal with it and I can sit tight and ignore it. Unless my spouse is on a conference call, of course... then, it's my problem, but now I have to figure that out first.

Are you seeing or hearing changes from your fan base in terms of buying books or just wanting to communicate more with you after being housebound for weeks or months at a time?

Bill Craig: My routine has not really changed. I still work from 9pm to 11pm. I missed 1 day of writing due to being sick with covid. Being a functional hermit kept me from getting a more severe case.

Jenny Reed: No.

Nancy Hansen: I have heard from a few people, mostly wondering about how to get certain books of mine and when new ones in certain popular series would be out in print. Since what I write is great escapist fiction, I can understand the additional interest, but I had to explain that once I turn them over to a publisher, the books are on their timetable and not mine. Still I thanked everyone for their interest, and yes, it did pick up quite a bit as the year went on. There wasn't much new on the Tube, and surfing the social sites was getting depressing. The news certainly was no comfort most days! I don't mind chatting with folks when I have the time. In fact, I belong to a small writer's group where we read to each other virtually once a week, and that gave us all an outlet to be with our 'tribe'. Pretty much business as usual on this end for the most part though.