In the beginning was the Word. And so it shall be throughout time and even in the end. The written word is eternal. At least we presume that it is. Perhaps we presume too much. With this high-tech generation where youngsters rebel at the simple concept of reading, one might pause to wonder about the future of the written word.

The spoken word existed long before the written word. It is our means of communicating the past, the current and, hopefully, through forecasting, the future. In these dire times, inflicted by a world pandemic, Covid-19, we listen to the news, we read reports online or in print media, we talk amongst ourselves. In other words, we communicate. By reaching out and connecting with others, we are making some sense of a time gone mad. And, in the process, preparing the way for future generations.

Did not the people who survived the Spanish Flu of 1918 record their experiences? Did not the people who lived through one plague after another communicate ideas?

In 2020, what do we as writers, have to say about this situation? Can we forecast the future? Learn from the past and the present and prepare for a better world? Will what we write today make an impact on what we and others do tomorrow?

If history were to look back, we might wonder. Nevil Shute wrote On the Beach in 1957, predicting an apocalypse caused by nuclear fallout. Dean Koontz wrote The Eyes of Darkness in 1981 which predicted a world-wide pandemic, originating in Wuhan China in 2020. And then there’s the 1971 movie, The Omega Man, where one man only has survived the world pandemic (the others who survived were turned into zombie-like creatures of the night). And so many other books and movies that documented, predicted, fictionalized the possibilities of a dire ‘what if’ situation like Covid-19.

I have to admit, I feel like we’re living in a world somewhere between On the Beach, The Eyes of Darkness, and The Omega Man. Did we listen then? Will we read, listen and learn now?

Perhaps not, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t write. At least someone, somewhere, at some time, will read what we write and learn from our words. It’s certainly not easy. Considering the sudden loss of jobs, loss of income, fewer people buying non-essentials like books (though, arguably, I believe books are essential to keep the mind both healthy and active). So, there’s stress surrounding the nagging belief that what we write will go nowhere. Perhaps that’s true, but the act of writing will help us relieve our own stress. And, that’s a beginning.

Now that we’ve agreed to write, the question begs: what do we write about? More Armageddon, post-apocalyptic horror stories? Or something funny to ease the tension? Or a mind-numbing romance to make us (and then the readers) forget about the shattering world around us? Or a thrilling mystery to activate our inquisitive minds?

Well, in my case, I’ve intensified my morning ritual of writing in my journal. I have always kept a journal, but lately, my quarter to half-page inserts, mere documentation of the previous day's events, have magnified to pages of in-depth words of wisdom (well, I think so anyway), dissecting the attempts of world leaders and medical practitioners and their inability to stem the tide, to flatten the curve they keep describing and stop this Covid-19 thing in its tracks. Of course, we writers always have the pat answers, don’t we? At least, in my journal entries, I can feel assured that I, for one, know all the answers. Perhaps I don’t, but it makes me feel better writing it down.

As well as journaling, I have maintained my daily routine: walking the dog, writing the morning away (currently working on a novel I started pre-Covid-19 lockdown), plotting promotional strategies to continue marketing my already published books, responding to emails, reading and writing book reviews, and working on short stories and articles for various publications. So far, I have kept on track. I have written and published some short pieces influenced by the current world situation, but that’s not my goal. Perhaps it’s yours.

The important thing is to write. Every day. And as much as possible every day. And, hopefully, when this is all over, and we resume our so-called ‘normal’ lives, we have something in writing for future generations to study, to understand and to appreciate what we were going through. Hopefully, too, future generations will learn from our experiences as we shared them in the written word.