Passing the Time by Writing

For some people, self-isolation is hell. They can’t go out and see their friends or go to their favorite café to sip their favorite brew then post everything on Instagram.

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For some others, self-isolation is heavenly. These people don’t need to make major changes to their lifestyle since their daily lives are practically self-isolation in the first place.

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Whether you’re the former, latter, or somewhere in between, there’s something you can do to pass the time — write.

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Writing to Pass the Time

We’re not suggesting that you should do whatever you want when it comes to writing. That works, but you’ll be more productive if you follow these suggestions:

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Stock up on books

Good writers are good readers too. It’s time to stock up on books that interest you and the ones relevant to gather materials for your writing. When stocking up on physical books is not possible, go with the eBook versions. You may feel they provide different reading experience, but tough times demand that you just make do with what you have.

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Make it a habit to read works by other authors in your genre. If you’re writing romantic comedy, read novels in the romantic comedy genre. If you want to read books from other genres, that’s alright. You’ll open yourself to more ideas when you step out of your genre.

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Learn from others

Online forums covering writing techniques are more lively during this whole lockdown and self-isolation phase. Find a forum you’re comfortable with and ask suggestions for improving your work. Other writers will be more than happy to help you.

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Please be specific when you ask for help. If you need assistance with structuring your work, be upfront and clear about it so others can provide concrete suggestions.

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By the way, if you need help with grammar and spelling, you can turn to the online spelling checker for help. It’s swift and easy to use. It can catch errors that your tired eyes just can’t see.

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Be professional

Let’s admit it: staying at home makes it hard to stick to any real schedule. You wake up anytime you want and do things without the need to worry about deadlines. Well, that’s bad. Even if you don’t have a real deadline, you should make one yourself.

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As an example, you can aim to write at least two pages or read at least two chapters a day. You can also set the schedule in hours as usual. So you set two hours exclusively to write and another two hours to read.

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The ideal time to write is early morning when no one is awake to disturb you and the ideal time to read is when you about to go to sleep. However, since everyone has different circumstances, feel free to set the time to your liking.

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Reflect

Once in a while, step back and look at your achievements or lack of them. What works or doesn’t work for you? What problems you often encounter when trying to achieve your goals? Is there anything you can do differently to achieve better results?

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OK, that’s all for your short suggestions on passing the time by writing. Don’t be too fixated on writing, though. Be sure to exercise regularly and spend time with your family. You’re going to need all that if you wish to be mentally healthy during these tough times. Oh, be sure to keep physical distancing in mind too.