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JaneShuff posted an update 5 years, 7 months ago
Just wondering how you are all dealing with the Covid pandemic within your writing. I’m in the planning stages of a new novel and can’t decide. Do I set my novel pre-pandemic? Which feels like a bit of a cop-out. Do I ignore it completely? Same comment. Or do I try to set it in the current situation with the problems and concerns of the pandemic affecting the action and characters exactly as they are in real life? This one feels like the best answer for me although it will make some parts of my plot very difficult.
I guess it’s not a problem if your writing is set in a different world or time.
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I think it depends how optimistic or pessimistic you are about the pandemic. Considering how long it takes between drafting a novel and seeing it in print (if it gets that far), if you take the optimistic view the whole thing will be over by then, it’ll no longer be a part of contemporary life, and nobody will worry much whether you’ve included it or not. On the other hand, if you’re of the view that it’s going to be a long-term thing and life is never likely to be quite the same again (or not for a long time, anyway), then you’d pretty much have to take account of it. Dunno if that helps much, really…
Not answering your question, exactly, but I’ve read a number of short stories which include reference to Covid and in general I find them offputting, a bit bandwagon, which might be because we’re in the middle of it. I think if your novel is set at the time, a passing reference to its restrictions might be enough. But the same (to include or not) could be said about very any other world-interest activity, e.g. royal weddings etc.
Personally, I’d leave it out. So many people now must be writing pandemic stories, that the mention of it alone might put readers on guard. Also, optimistically speaking, by the time your novel comes out, life may have returned to normal and your story would be dated.
Interesting. I wasn’t planning on writing a story about the pandemic but was thinking about whether the story I had planned to write should acknowledge the pandemic. For example there is quite a lot of travel in it and it feels weird to have someone just hop on a plane given what’s going on. Have to think a bit more.
Best of luck!
Yes, best of luck, Jane. FWIW, I don’t think ignoring the pandemic is anything of a cop-out. I’m choosing to ignore it in my next one for similar reasons to some remarks above, that a) it risks becoming band-wagon and, if it does (hopefully) pass, Covid might age the novel by the time it comes to print. Mostly b) that books are commonly escapism, and I doubt I’d invest in a story where I couldn’t escape from Covid, even if only in my mind.
I agree there’s a risk of bandwagon. I think it can be hard, too, to think of something interesting to say about a situation when we’re still in it. Hard for me, anyway.
Yeah, its a tricky one isn’t it? To ignore it completely, or assume that a book based two years from now can still ignore it completely seems a bit unbelievable to me. This is a world changing event, ignoring it for present/near-future settings would be odd imo. BUT I have absolutely zero interest in novels *about* it. I do think the shifting, uncertain, anxious, lonely atmosphere of this year (and next) might make potent backgrounds to a novel. So if your character is flying a lot, let that itself be a subtle source of tension, iyswim.
…Or base your novel in 2019…
Thanks @raine. You expressed my quandary much better than I could. Still not sure which way to go!!
I’m veering towards thinking that a contemporary book which ignores covid is going to date far faster than one which has it/its aftershocks in the background.
I think I agree and, in any case, I’m finding hard to impossible to plan without the realities of Covid19 informing the action. It is the current reality.