Hope everyone is staying in and safe during what is undeniably a strange and stressful time. Massachusetts enacted on Sunday a rather strict ban on public gatherings and announced a lengthy public school closure, so a lot of folks are learning what it’s like to live as a professional writer: sitting at home all day, every day, starved for live social interaction — and, since it’s also St. Patrick’s Day, drinking a little too much.

Speaking of staying home and writing…

A lot of writerly folks online took advantage of this crisis to offer some well-intended but ill-thought-out encouragement to the aspiring author crowd to get cracking on that novel they’d never had time to write.

I call it well-intended because, sure, on the surface this feels like a perfect time to sit down and get cracking on that long-deferred novel project, but I call it ill-thought-out because — as others have pointed out — this is not some sort of bonus free time people are getting. More fortunate Americans have a job they can do from home, so they’re going to be busy working. And if they have kids who are stuck home and need to be home-schooled/cared for/entertained, they have even less free time.

And for those who are underemployed or straight-up out of work until this passes? They’re likely too stressed about how they’re going to pay their bills to try to be creative — and before you say, “Yeah, but if they write their novel, they’ll have money!” you need to acknowledge that you don’t know jack shit about how this job works financially and stop trying to help, because you are not helping.

(I’m not going to go down that rabbit hole now. If someone really wants to know why this is unfeasible, say so and I’ll indulge you, but for now I’m going to give it a pass.)

Now, if you do happen to find yourself in a situation conducive to creating — whether your chosen art form is writing, drawing, painting, music, etc. — then by all means, take advantage of it. Make some art and share it. It’ll help you stay sane throughout this mess, and might bring some much-needed happiness to someone out there who needs it. But if it simply isn’t in the cards? Don’t let anyone — yourself included — make you feel guilty for not creating your artistic masterpiece.

WRITING PROJECTS