Not Too Well

“How has the ongoing pandemic affected your creativity?”

At the beginning of the pandemic, we mostly isolated ourselves and went out as little as possible. You’d think that with so much time on my hands I would have knocked out several books by now. The thing is, I found that too much leisure had a negative impact on my writing. Before the pandemic I had regular writing time set aside and would work during those hours. With nothing else to do I just drifted away from writing and became a reader more than a writer. Our Monday and Tuesday foxes talked about discovering so many new creative outlets, but I sure didn’t do that. I used to quilt, do some needlework, and enjoyed keeping my house fresh and current. I didn’t do any of that either. I just watched TV, read, cooked a little, and walked the dogs.

Eventually, though, people began to go out more, and so did we. We started to follow a more normal routine. We were careful, but we didn’t isolate ourselves anymore. As our routine returned to normal I found that I had a lot more interest in writing. I finished a couple of WIPs and started to edit them.

At that point I found that the publisher who had many of my books was closing the doors. It wasn’t that this was totally unexpected, but having so many of books out of publication at one time threw me. I stopped thinking about writing again. I think I’ve come to terms with it now, My interest in writing seems to be returning for which I’m very thankful. Writing has been a part of my life for a long time now, and I’d hate to lose it. Maybe with one more edit I’ll try to find a publisher for one of those WIPs, and if I do my pandemic slump will end.

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About Elaine Cantrell

Elaine Cantrell was born and raised in South Carolina. She has a Master’s Degree in Personnel Services from Clemson University and is a member of Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary sorority for women educators. She is also a member of Romance Writers of America. Her first novel A New Leaf was the 2003 winner of the Timeless Love Contest and was published in 2004 by Oak Tree Press. When she isn't writing you can find Elaine playing with her dog or maybe collecting more vintage Christmas ornaments
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9 Responses to Not Too Well

  1. I’m glad your muse is starting to show herself again! Maybe all that reading you did inspired some ideas.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Jeff Salter says:

    I did quite a bit of drifting, also… as you’ll read about on Hound Day tomorrow.
    As for losing your titles at C.R. — I totally understand. It’s the type of body-blow that a non-writer may not be able to comprehend.

    Like

  3. We seem to have been in the same boat. I better put more thought into what Friday’s post will say.

    Like

  4. Stacy McKitrick says:

    Yeah, my writing went by the wayside, too. Mainly because I no longer had the house to myself! I’m slowly getting back to my WIP, but people are still in the house. Something that will never change, now. Guess I gotta get used to it.

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    • Elaine Cantrell says:

      Your routine sounds as if it were even more disrupted than mine was. Hopefully your muse will come roaring back as you adjust to the changes in your house. Good luck!

      Like

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