Writing Through Hard Times
Written by MVWG Member Christy Wopat
For my 9th birthday party, I got two cherished gifts from my friends: a Super-Special edition of the Baby Sitter’s Club, and a leather diary. I wrote in it almost immediately, chronicling the ins and outs of my life daily.
Dear Diary, I’d write, you should have heard what Sarah said to me at school today. Or Dear Diary, I think I might be getting really close to having a boyfriend!
When my twins died a decade ago, I wrote my way through intense grief. I’d sit at the computer, tears streaming down my face, spinning my pain into a story. I used my words to feel, to connect, to reach out.
At my ultimate lows, I have written.
And yet, when Covid hit, my fingers refused to type. My notebooks sat untouched. So often, I write about things after they’ve happened. I put them out in the universe and away they go, leaving me to move on to another day, another dilemma, another problem to solve. But Covid is different. It’s not over. It’s long from over. And honestly, often, I don’t know what to say.
I’m juggling projects: my Facebook page, my blog, some drafts of children’s books, a middle-grade book, a pregnancy after loss book, maybe essays on teaching, but the juggle is all happening in my mind.
In reality, I am grasping at anything I can get, chasing productivity and hoping I can catch even a tiny bit. I can’t sugar coat it, it’s so difficult. I’m a worker by nature, I draw my energy from checking items off my to-do list. And even with all this extra time at home, and the pressure that goes along with it (even if it is self-inflicted) is so counterproductive.
I’m struggling to read, to write, to create anything, really. Even imaginative play with my children is difficult. I spend so much time on my computer at work now (teaching through Zoom) that when I get home, I dread turning it back on.
BUT. But, even with all of this, when I do get in the groove, it still feels right. I still have moments where I read back something I wrote and fill with pride. I’m still connecting with people, even if in a different way.
Are you struggling to be productive during the pandemic? Here are some things I found that helped me, even just a little bit:
Send a real, hand-written letter in the mail
Get a new notebook and a fancy pen and write a diary entry
Lift any requirements you might typically have for writing and try your best to write when you are in the mode.
Find the time of day that works best for you creatively, and try to plan for time to write then. Is it morning, before everyone else wakes? Lunch break? Are you a night-owl?
Write something totally different from what you normally write. Try writing a memoir or poetry.
Forgive yourself. Give yourself grace, just like you’re doing for others right now.
Write on, friends. Write on.
Christy Wopat is a 4th-grade teacher and writer from Holmen, Wisconsin. She serves as a board member for the Mississippi Valley Writer’s Guild, and loves to celebrate the written word. Christy is the author of two books and a master of balancing grief and humor. You can learn more about Christy and her work at www.christywopat.com.