Before Coronavirus, or
COVID-19, made the country go into lockdown my husband went out to work every day and
my boys went to school. From 8am to 4pm I was at home by myself and I was able
to get lots of writing done, including some for the novel and some for the
blog. Things changed when the lockdown began and as we enter week 8 of
lockdown I've seen progress on the novel take a hit, but it's picking up again
and I'm in some sort of routine. Homeschooling while writing a novel is not
easy, especially when your kids need attention, but here's how I'm coping.
The start of homeschooling
Our
first day of homeschooling
went well, we got a routine sorted out and were able to get on with work
fairly quickly. We settled into a good routine and my youngest son just got on
with his
school packs
while I sat at my computer. However writing on the novel took a hit, it took
me more than a week to get back to writing anything. Monitoring the school
work and making sure we established a good routine with that was taking up all
of my time. The other thing was that I was so used to being in my office alone
that having my son in there with me chatting away made it difficult to be able
to think about my novel at all.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
Nelson Mandela
Altering my routine
After a week of homeschooling I learned there are certain times during the day
when my input is required less often so this is when I wrote. As long as I
could get at least 10 minutes of uninterrupted time to think I could get
started with writing, and once I'm started I can keep going. It's the blank
page that always stumps me. Staring at a blank page waiting to be filled can
be more overwhelming that starting half way through a chapter. So, with 10
minutes to get started I'd be off and even with interruptions I could continue
and managed to make a little progress. But there's a problem with it...
Writing speech is difficult and needs a lot of thought, and when you have an
11 year old sitting nearby talking about Fortnite and what his friends do
while playing the game, it can be hard to focus on what you're trying to
write. On a few occasions I've just had to give up and move on rather than
trying to push through and write whatever pops into my head because my
characters would likely start talking about Fortnite! It's also kind of
strange writing about
crime and murder
when I've got my son sitting nearby. I write my best work when I can have a
certain atmosphere around me, for example I play sinister sounding
instrumental music, or something like Dexter soundtracks, and I like it to be
very quiet. That's not really possible with an 11 year old in the room. I
can't really get into the right frame of mind when he's nodding his head while
he listens to his favourite music, a huge grin on his face.
So, like I said, I've altered my routine. When I can have quiet around me and
focus on what I'm doing I write the novel, when he needs my attention I write
things for the blog.
Week 8 of lockdown
We're just starting week 8 of lockdown and although we've established a good
routine I've learned it's definitely easier to write when I have quiet and can
concentrate on the novel completely. When my mind is flitting from
investigating a murder to answering my son's questions about
Leafcutter Ants it leaves my novel feeling stilted. Admittedly it's the first draft so it
doesn't necessarily matter and I'll be able to fix it later, but getting the
ideas out now is important to be able to form them better later. At the moment
I look forward to the times when my son is reading, he is quiet and goes into
his bedroom to read which gives me a good 20 minutes or so to write what I
can. I get plenty done in that time and can focus on what I'm doing.
It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.
P. D. James
We CAN cope!
I may sound like I'm complaining that I've got the family home and in a way I
guess I am, it certainly makes it harder to write, but truthfully it's been
lovely having the boys home. Now I'm not going to tell a lie and say it's all
been brilliant, I think we're all getting to that time where we need a break,
we need time away from each other, but it's nice to have everyone here. Most
importantly it's great that none of us have been ill - apart from what I
thought was
flu at the start
of the pandemic. I'll keep coping by having a routine and fitting in writing
when I can, I'll sneak time alone by hiding in the bathroom or going for a
walk and I know there's always games to keep the boys busy.
We will get there, and when we do we'll be able to look back on this time and
see we did the very best we could.
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