It goes without saying that the pandemic messed up our lives one way or another. However, the quarantine did bring about some benefits. As a writer (and an introvert), this prolonged period at home brought me more joy than anything else.

Going into the pandemic, I was hard set on finishing my Chemistry and Math Textbook. It didn't occur to me at all that writing would dominate a big part of my life. It wasn't until I felt the toll on my mental health did I start writing.

I have written sporadically before the pandemic when the mood and inspiration hits, but during the pandemic, I wrote a great deal every day. During the pandemic, I had a lot of free time to just think about my stories and random ideas.

I found that my ideas underwent a shift from western romance stories to historical fictions during this period of time. It's most likely due to the high exposure to Chinese history I had at home. I found this beneficial however, because I had a lot to write about!

My writing schedule usually went from five to eight at night after a day of physics and math. It's really refreshing to think about something other than formulas! I would sit on my couch, facing the living room window and the sunset it displays, and write all about battles and usurpers.

One downside of the pandemic on my writing, however, is that I felt a sense of uncertainty due to the disconnect I felt from the outside world. I didn't know whether I was doing it "right". But after some reading, namely the Game of Thrones series, I had a better grasp of writing styles.

Another positive thing about the pandemic was that I joined Wattpad and I got a lot of motivation from writing on it. It was also during the pandemic that I joined the Coalition Community! This virtual community helped my writing too because of all the like-minded people I met.

Anyways, I decided that I should bring in some of my friends to talk about their writing experiences. So I sat down in front of my laptop and bombarded them with questions.

Let me introduce to you, my friends, Suey and JJiawei

Me: How did the pandemic impact your writing? Either positively or negatively.

Suey: The pandemic definitely affected my writing positively. Not only did it provide me with more time to write, it also allowed me to read and do more research, giving me more ideas to write about.

Me: Did you get less or more creative in your opinion?

Suey: My opinions (in general) changed in a few different ways. e.g. More sensitive to things going on in other countries and more critical toward the school education we were now receiving online.

Me: What's one project you worked on?

Suey: One project I worked on is the completion of a travel diary/log of a trip I took with my family last summer.

@JJIAWEI had a different take.

JJ: Hey there! Ok let's see... The pandemic has definitely negatively impacted my writing. It's mainly because I've been forced to return home for an extended period of time, and being around family has never been great for my writing (or anything really). Plus, I tend to get ideas when I go out and observe the world, so being stuck inside hasn't been helping that either. Before the pandemic, I had a roommate who'd always be interested in my story and encourage my creativity. Now, I've slumped quite a bit. I have a spreadsheet to keep track of my progress and I've gone from consistent weekly chapters to nothing for months. While I guess I have more time for writing, there's just no energy.

Me: What's an example of the outside world inspiring your writing?

JJ: Ah it's not very interesting Usually just by observing small details around me—how the sun reflects off a building's windows, how people interact with each other, the style of someone's outfit—I get ideas on how to describe things and build scenarios. I hardly ever put it to writing but it keeps the gears turning in my head.

Me: Ah I see. I tend to get inspiration from vocabulary words. It's quite interesting where we get ideas.

JJ: For sure. I prefer staying indoors but if I want ideas I have to go out for them

Me: That's quite interesting. What's a project you've been working on?

JJ: The project I've been working on is The Deviants: Kingdom Deceived. I go back and forth on writing and illustrating for it.

As usual, I ended the interview with admiration on how talented and diverse people are. It also left me with a revelation of how different people have different experiences of the same event. So now, Wattpad Reader, how did you the pandemic impact you?

CONTENT CREATED BY the13thbluecat