Remember when times were precedented? Yeah, me neither, but let’s assume there was a moment. Maybe 2010 to 2020? After the housing crisis, before Covid? What was that like? We went to crowded places without worrying about who had a cough. We voted because we’d been taught to do so in civics class, not because it felt like the future of the whole world depended on it.
I published my first book in March 2018, almost exactly two years before the world shut down in the midst of a pandemic. Two blissful years of precedented writing so I could learn things like craft and the basics of self publishing. Then, boom! The logistics of finding an editor and getting my book files uploaded on time were the least of my problems.
Basically, in the seven years since I started putting books out into the world, five of those were spent writing in unprecedented times. That’s days and weeks sitting in front of my computer, telling myself that my silly little characters and their silly little problems have a place in the big bad world.
Sometimes, it’s hard to believe. When the ones we love are under threat, whether from disease or a despot, it can be hard to keep writing. What does it matter? Surely there are more important things to be doing? And yes, there are. You have to keep yourself safe. Keep a roof over your head. Reach out to leaders and politicians when you can. Volunteer to help those who are struggling or protect those who are under threat.
The world needs stories of all kinds. If you’re struggling to keep writing in unprecedented times, here are a few strategies that might help.
Lower Your Expectations
Are you an indie author planning to release five books this year, but it’s the end of February and you’re already hopelessly behind? It’s okay. Readers will wait. Books will get written. This year is not the same as last year, and you’re not expected to have the same output you would when sailing is smooth. Lower your targets. No one will judge you for it. A little self care goes a long way.
Write the Fun Thing
Can’t shorten your publishing schedule? Or you’re feeling desperately uninspired by the work you had planned? Maybe this is the year to write that whacky plot bunny you’ve been sitting on for ages. You can pivot and write that cozy mystery you outlined in the middle of the night last summer. Or publish the extra spicy erotic romance you’ve been too scared to put out in the world. In unprecedented times, sometimes it’s best to throw caution to the wind.
Write the Sad/Angry/Dark Thing
Sometimes, writers feel pressure to keep turning out the same happy endings and friendly characters, even while the world seems like it’s falling down around their ears. My earliest books were all happy, fluffy contemporary romances where characters fell in love and lived happily ever after.
But it’s okay to let that go if it feels forced right now. If your books are taking a darker turn this year, that tone will speak to someone. We’re all going through it right now. Last year, all my books had themes about death and grief. I can’t imagine where those plot bunnies came from, can you? But people still read them and enjoyed them, even if they weren’t all fluffy happiness from page one. Sometimes readers need permission to face their own dark and grieving sides too.
Write to Resist
Let’s face it, feminine rage is hot. Or, as my friend KJ Aiello once said, “feminine rage isn’t rage. It’s an appropriate response to a bullshit world.”
Writing is resistance. Fiction looks at the world around us and imagines what it could be, or criticizes how it is. Doesn’t matter if it’s romance or sci-fi or historical fiction. All writing is inherently political.
You don’t need characters marching in the streets or overthrowing an oppressive regime to make your book an act of resistance. Simply presenting a small town without homophobia or where a romantic couple are treated as equals and as partners with valid emotional needs? That’s resistance. It gives readers a glimpse into how it could be, when what it really is right now can feel, as KJ said, like “bullshit.”
Write Because We Need Stories Now
Every book that is published is a time capsule. Regardless of where or when it’s set, it’s a mirror that shows us what the author thought was a story worth telling in the moment it was written.
Write stories in unprecedented times, because this is the only time you can tell the story exactly like you will now. Five years in the future, ten years, whether those are still unprecedented times, or whether we have set a new precedent, the way you write the same plot will be different.
We need stories now. We need them so we can look at them later and go “wow, that was a weird time.” We need them to remind ourselves of where we were and how far we’ve come. Keep writing in unprecedented times, because there will never be another time exactly like this one.
Alli Temple
Allison (she/her) lives in Toronto with her very patient husband and the world’s cutest team of rescue pets. She tries to split her time between writing, exploring Toronto’s parks, and traveling anywhere that has good wine. Tragically, this leaves no time to clean the house.
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