As someone who has known they wanted to write since they came to the fifth-grade career day dressed as a novelist, I’m no stranger to writer’s block and inspirational slumps, but being sick has certainly been a new kind of torture. I’ve been grappling with a post-COVID induced health condition these last five months that leaves me physically unable to write due to visual impairment and crippling headaches. In an effort to carry on with my creative endeavors amidst this difficult situation, I’ve discovered a few tips for making the most out of living from a sick bed whether it be for half a year or half a week.
Don’t: Let those pathogens hit pause on who you are.
Do: Find a way to do what you love. I’ve converted my journals into daily voice memos. Although dictation can’t compare to the music of those computer keys dancing under my fingers, it keeps the stories alive and breathing.
Don’t: Waste your many musings about the meaning of the world that hours of sitting in darkness force you to dredge up.
Do: Record every random thing. You never know if your 4 A.M. ramblings or your Benadryl-induced dream state will form the basis of your next haunting short story or riveting fantasy novel.
Don’t: Wear the same shirt to visit your doctor five times in a row. As busy as those doctors are, they’re bound to notice eventually.
Do: Write crazy cool siege warfare battle scenes as a metaphor for what your incurable nervous system is doing to your head.
Don’t: Look at anyone wearing sunglasses indoors funny ever again. They might be nursing something more serious than a hangover.
Do: Compensate for your inability to open your eyes by listening to absurd amounts of audiobooks. There are more ways than one to truly see. I’ve turned my depressing days in a dark room into excellent opportunities to get acquainted with a ton of the groundbreaking work going on in some of my favorite genres.
Don’t: Delete this chapter of your life from memory (no matter how much you may want to).
Do: Use this as an exercise in empathy if nothing else. I’ve channeled my experiences into fiction and nonfiction stories alike in an effort to reach out to others in similar circumstances whether grappling with temporary afflictions or long-term health conditions, especially those that allude diagnoses and cures like mine. I want to give them all a voice of sorts, to tell them that they are not alone, and to share some of my advice.
Don’t: Let the tunnel swallow you up. Just because you can’t see the end of it yet, that does not mean that it isn’t waiting just around the next bend.
Interested in the fruits of my labor? Look out for this coming Spring 2021 edition of Calliope where you can read my story, Post-COVID Syndrome, along with the other fabulous works from this semester. You don’t want to miss it!
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