My Journey To The Wattys 2020

Day 196

Last week, after my revelation of a new and improved storyline, I was excited to get to work. It was spring break, I had more time than usual to get some writing done.

Of course, it didn't last.

At the time of writing my previous entry, we still had not seen a case of the coronavirus here in Alaska. Life was still relatively normal, although precautions were certainly being taken in the community as far as planning and response. When the first case was reported, everything changed almost overnight. Friday morning, it was announced that spring break would be extended for a week. By that afternoon, it had been announced that school would be out for the rest of the month. Last night, the governor announced the closure of restaurants, bars, movie theaters and so on, except for the purpose of carry-out/food delivery. I'm now working from home until further notice, the kids will start distance learning next week.

None of this has been very conducive to writing. Regardless of how much you pay attention to all this stuff, it's happening. Live is changing. Writing becomes less of a concern and one of those things that are easier to put aside until later.

Yet, at the same time, I feel like I need to write, if nothing else for my own sanity. Just as reading can be an escape from the world around you, writing can be as well. When I write, I dive into another world that doesn't always exist, into circumstances different than my own and I write my own ending. I'm in control. So, in a way, writing is a bit of an outlet for stress for me, it's just more difficult to get going and harder to find the time in the present circumstances.

Despite this, I have found some time these past few days to dive into the hostile environment of The Departure Protocol. The revelation I had last week is turning out as I had hoped to and I've been able to fill in some of the plot holes in the first third or so of the story that seriously affected the rest of the story. Most of this has involved just jotting down notes here and there but at least the process is moving forward and I feel like the story is coming together, even though more slowly than I had expected.
My postings and writing will be a bit sporadic this next week as we settle into a new routine involving working from home, doing school from home etc.
Despite all of this, my goal still remains and I'll keep working towards it. My focus this week is to continue to work towards getting the highlights of the plot worked out and then get into the nitty gritty.