Well perhaps these days we might be forgiven for thinking that YouTube and TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and all those other platforms based on visual content may have sounded the death knell for reading anything longer than a hashtag. But this is not at all so.
Reading still rules...
In 2019, the UK book industry alone was worth some £6 billion. While sales of print books fell somewhat, sales of digital and audiobooks increased. Let's not forget that books are not the only form of reading material. Much of what we read includes news and opinion reports - and stories, creative fiction, creative non-fiction and more - in newspapers and magazines, both in print and online. Whether it's from paper or from their phone or tablets or computer screens, people read and they read a lot.
When you add to that the fact that to make a film or documentary, or video report, there often has to be a script first (social media and TikTok dancing excepted!), the need for writing, and good writing in particular, is clearly as important as ever.
Human beings also have an innate drive to communicate with each other, and this has never been more starkly highlighted than in this period of almost global 'lockdown', where we have been forced by the spread of this deadly contagion to isolate ourselves from each other. Many of us will be spending our lockdown periods within small family units and many others will be completely alone.
Being alone for long periods is not a natural human state. We may like to enjoy periods of solitude for reflection or simply 'me' time, but prolonged periods immersed in an enforced solitary state can be detrimental to our mental health. Simply put, we get lonely.
...But technology can help
Technology has opened up a way for us to get through periods of isolation in a way many of us had simply not given thought to: WhatsApp group video chats, Zoom online board meetings, group musical collaborations, the streaming of live theatre productions for those who can't attend. I even have a friend who is continuing to give dance classes on Zoom in a way which means all her 'couples' can continue to practise their steps every week to their favourite music and still feel they are doing it as a group! And technology enables us to research, find inspiration, learn, practise our craft and continue to write our stories for an ever-growing audience.
During this particular intense time of crisis, our senses tend to be heightened; we are acutely aware of danger and yet we are obliged to stay calm. We have to do exactly the opposite of what our 'fight or flight' instincts are screaming at us to do and stay still, stay home. The internal conflict this arouses in us can cause us problems, that is true, but it can also be the source of tremendous creativity.
The short story is an ideal medium for expressing that creativity. You can blurt out what you want to say in a short space of time, polish it up, make sure that the plot is coherent and the characters believable and there you have it. Or almost. A good short story will have to be revised and polished until it communicates what the writer wants to say as effectively as possible in beautiful words, and leave the reader with the sense of having uncovered a universal truth.
If you love writing, as I said in a previous post, this is the ideal time to just do it, especially as there are a tremendous amount of online resources to help. Just Google 'How to write a short story' and you'll pull up thousands of articles devoted to give you ideas.
For my part, I can't say I have suddenly taken to penning my magnum opus during this period. Besides having to dedicate some time to working from home, I simply haven't been able to focus for very long at a time. It's a common response to times of crisis apparently.
But again, technology has come to my rescue as a writer. I have been co-writing a non-fiction book and technology has been perfect for sharing research notes and working together on the manuscript, and in these past few weeks we have come to almost finish the first draft.
I have also finally begun proper work on a collection of short stories. It suits me to write these now. Time seems to have both lengthened and compressed at the same time. I get up in the morning wondering if lockdown will be extended or called off. Uncertainty as to health or whether there will be any work or any money to be earned when the pandemic recedes means it is difficult to plan ahead. Short stories can be dreamed up and drafted in a relatively short space of time while novels can occupy you for years. And once again, technology has helped me find inspiration, ideas and sources of learning.
Here are links to some sites I found useful recently, to help motivate me and keep me writing:
There are so many resources online, but there are also many sources of inspiration even just leaning out of your window to observe the calm that has suddenly descended on us. It is when it is quiet that you start to really notice the world immediately about you. It is by noticing those everyday things that normally you overlook, that you start to find the stories on your very doorstep.
This week, in my series 'Simply Stories' I have shared a story kindly contributed by young actress and writer, Carmen Anderson. "Berry Bliss for Breakfast" won her a prize in the Gibraltar Short Story Competition in 2018. It is a shot read with big impact. Check out the link in the right hand bar. I know you'll enjoy it!
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