Hello there!
Author Bio
Anstice Brown has a BA in Literature and
Philosophy and adores her role as a Literacy Learning Assistant. She lives in
England with her wonderful husband, daughter and their mischievous cat, Magical
Mr. Mistoffelees. Her short story “Sea of Sorrows” appears in the IWSG
anthology Masquerade: Oddly Suited (https://books2read.com/masqueradeoddlysuited).
Thanks Anstice!
See you all at our next challenge - April - Antique Vase. Eyes out for the April 1 post which will explain all, and feature two more writers who've been with WEP for 10 years!
How are you doing in times of Coronavirus? Hope you're all safe and well and protecting yourself by social distancing. Thankfully, online pursuits can go ahead.
We're running late this month. But we have a treat for you today as this month's winner of Cafe Terrace, Anstice Brown, has prepared a wonderful guest post, reaching out to writers at this challenging time.
Thank you Anstice!
Wellbeing for Writers During Challenging Times
With all the fear and uncertainty
surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, I wanted to contribute something positive
for my fellow writers, so here are my tips for staying creative in these
difficult times.
With everything that’s going on, you could
forgive your muse for forgetting to turn up to duty. Your strict writing
schedule may need to be abandoned in favour of a more flexible approach. Try
setting a timer for short intervals and writing without allowing yourself to
edit. Online writing sprints can help with motivation, as can having a writing
buddy to cheer you on and hold you accountable.
Planning can make you feel more in control
of your situation. It’s not helpful to dwell on worst-case scenarios, but if
you have looming deadlines, you should discuss your options with your editor or
publisher. It might be possible to extend deadlines or postpone things in the
event of illness or ongoing social distancing. Planning for it now will reduce
your anxiety about what might go wrong in the future.
If your day job is currently suspended, you
are probably juggling working-from-home, housework and home-schooling your
kids. You might need to think outside the box when it comes to finding the time
to write. Meetings with your writing crew will have to be via video call from
now on (Microsoft Teams is a brilliant tool for this).
However, this unique situation does offer
some interesting opportunities for book marketing as the majority of people
will be at home and needing entertainment. Here are some ideas:
●
Run an offer or giveaway for
your books.
●
Hold an online launch party or
author event. You could invent your own hashtag for the occasion, make custom
graphics, run giveaways and fan art competitions and post fun excerpts on your
blog.
●
Video yourself reading from
your book or host a writing webinar and share across social media to generate a
buzz.
●
Put together a free pack of
bookish resources for school students.
●
Look into writing for Chatables
(https://www.chatables.com/),
Amazon Alexa’s new conversational storytelling feature.
Writers are often self-critical but it’s
now more important than ever to prioritise our mental and physical wellbeing.
Writing should be a welcome escape, so if it’s adding to your stress, I’d
suggest you take a break. Soak up some sunshine in your garden, stretch your
body, get creative with your kids or lose yourself in a good book.
Now is the perfect time to connect with an
online writing group like the WEP, IWSG (https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/) or the #WritingCommunity on Twitter. Join in
with online events such as Camp NanoWrimo (https://campnanowrimo.org/) in April/July or
The Blogging from A-Z Challenge (http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/)
in April to give you a boost of motivation.
We all have to stick together through these
challenging times. If you feel yourself struggling, please reach out to someone
for support. Stay safe and write on everyone.
Author Bio
Anstice Brown has a BA in Literature and
Philosophy and adores her role as a Literacy Learning Assistant. She lives in
England with her wonderful husband, daughter and their mischievous cat, Magical
Mr. Mistoffelees. Her short story “Sea of Sorrows” appears in the IWSG
anthology Masquerade: Oddly Suited (https://books2read.com/masqueradeoddlysuited).
Website: https://ansticebrown.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnsticeBrown
Please tweet!
@AnsticeBrown #Covid-19 #WellbeingforWriters #WEPwinner #guestpost https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/03/hello-there-how-are-you-doing-in-times.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, #@LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim #amwriting #writingchallenge
