Writing and Reading During Coronavirus Lockdown

I hope you're managing to cope at this awful time of lockdown and social distancing as the world tries to contain and survive the very contagious coronavirus. I'm sad at not seeing my wee granddaughter but we're emailing each other now and then and her school has been brilliant at keeping in touch with the pupils. I've had to enjoy previous photos of our favourite seaside escape since we can't go there just now.

Evidently many writers are finding it difficult to focus, not surprisingly, and Facebook in particular is providing lots of diverting content. Although I haven't been getting on with any of my longer fiction, I have been very much enjoying concentrating on shorter fiction, non-fiction and poetry, some new, some rewritten. I've also been submitting them to competitions or markets wherever possible.

So far, I've had an acceptance from The People's Friend (shortly before lockdown), a non-fiction article about to be published, a short story accepted for a lip-reading service, and just yesterday my first short story acceptance by Yours Fiction Special. Lots of other items still to be decided. It's a great way to focus the mind after reading the updated news.

Husband and I have settled into a new routine, both working in separate rooms until lunchtime, then enjoying our short daily walk in early afternoon. I've been watching and reading escapist material, but that's my preferred normal anyway!

The new series of Malory Towers has been great fun - I watched it all on BBC iPlayer. At the moment, husband and I are watching Anne with an 'E' on Netflix - a very good new series of Anne of Green Gables which is slightly grittier than those I've seen before.

I'm always reading of course, a paperback downstairs and a different novel on kindle at night. I'm enjoying the novel For my Sins by Alex Nye, about Mary Queen of Scots. One dystopian series I'm loving on kindle is After the Thaw by Heidi Catherine and Tamar Sloan. The prequel, Burning, is still free on kindle at the moment.

Stay safe and keep well!

Rosemary