OK, so most of us have been asked to work at home.

It’s easy for some, but not for others.

I’ve been over that.

Since you have been asked to be home, due to circumstances beyond your control, and only can go out for essential things, then why not make the most of your time?

WRITE

On your downtime, get your list of novel ideas out, and try to develop them. It’s not hard. I’m sure you have some ideas that you could flesh out a little more. Just begin writing. You may want to brainstorm or if your idea was part of a brainstorming session, then go with it. Try to write at least 1,000 words before you call it a day. That’s roughly four pages. It’s not difficult to do, but if your idea is good, then the words should have no trouble finding the page.

And don’t keep track of the word count. If you come to 1,000 words and you can keep writing then write. On some days you may hit 900 words or less, so when the words are flowing, keep the spigot open. It’s your first draft, so you may end up not using all of the words you had written. It’s OK to go over your word count for the day. Writing is hard, but writing can be fun. At least for me it is.

And if you are not into writing prose fiction, then try your hand at poetry.

There many forms of poetry that you can explore including sonnets, free verse, acrostic, ballad, diamante, found poem, epic, haiku, elegy, ode, and a limerick.

You may want to write your poem or poems in longhand. In my opinion, when writing a poem in longhand, the poem takes on more meaning. When I decide to type it, I must find the the typeface that best represents the poem. Some typefaces lend themselves much better to poetry. I try to stay away from typefaces that look like handwriting because they look too perfect. Part of the joy of writing in longhand is the imperfections that go with it.

Take your time with your poetry. You may have written some lines to other poems but for some reason, they may not have worked. Try using your unused lines and pair them with something totally new. You may surprise yourself.

READ

If you don’t like to write, then treat yourself to a good book.

I’m sure there are books that you have not found the time to read. Now you can kick back and enjoy romance, suspense or horror just to name a few genres. Me, I will read all three because I not only read for pleasure, but I am also studying the craft. I look at how successful authors go about getting their words to the page. Nerdy I know, but it helps me figure out how I want get my words to the page.

There are so many authors who write awesome books.

And on the flip side, try to find a book that is absolutely awful and see if you can like it on some level. If you don’t like the heft of a physical book, you can opt for an e-book. It weighs as much as your e-reader does. If you don’t like reading books, trying reading cereal boxes, newspapers, magazines or other periodicals.

Or you can read online versions of your favorite periodicals. If you still don’t want to read, listen to a recorded book and hear how the narrator’s interpretation of the literary work.

SCREENPLAY

If you don’t want to read, listen or write a novel, try writing a screenplay or a play. There are software programs like Final Draft, Celtx, Scrivener, and Fade In. Some of these programs are expensive and some are not, but each will give you the correct format to write your TV show or movie screenplay. One aspect that you need to be conscious of when writing show or screenplay is dialogue. I would suggest to read old screenplays online. Several sites have old screenplays for you to review.

Find an old screenplay and try to read the screenplay while watching the movie or TV show. This will give you a new perspective on how to write dialogue, and what words go well with others. Also do your homework on the formatting because after you revise, you may want to submit your work to a competition. If your screenplay is not correctly formatted, it will not be considered.

It’s that simple.

It’s that hard.

TAKEOUT

Remember to help a local restaurant during these turbulent times and order some takeout food. Check out Page B5 for a list of restaurants.