When the original lockdown started last year I remember the difficulty I had in completing my undergraduate dissertation – a selection of short stories. I wanted my writing to be full of humour but struggled massively. Life in that moment wasn’t particularly funny.
I tried my best to push past it all those months ago, scribbling notes into a journal. I tried to make notes every single day and sometimes it would only be a line, other times it would be paragraphs. I would try to be inspired by the walks I went on or the irritating traits of my family.
I would never have thought that ten months later I would be in the exact same scenario – uninspired in another lockdown. But I am hoping this blog will force me to keep up with my writing, especially on the days where it feels like I can’t find something to say.
Lydia Davis once said it is important to observe your own feelings (but not at tiresome length). This is definitely something I hadn’t thought too much of until last year. The confinement forces everyone to observe their own feelings, always at a tiresome length.
The silver lining to all of my writing troubles is that I have more time now than ever to write. For now I will go back to the notes I have made in my journal and try to write a story about anything different to what is happening around the world now. I have always loved that part of writing – the escapism.
