Tirza Schaefer
asked
Kevin A. Kuhn:
Do you find the pandemic has had any influence, good or bad, on your writing?
Kevin A. Kuhn
In all honesty, the pandemic hasn’t been good for my writing. To start with, it’s getting harder to compete with reality. I mean, global pandemic, social unrest, Australian bushfires, murder hornets, Eddie Van Halen’s and Alex Trebek’s deaths, and West Coast wildfires. If you put all that in a novel, people would say it’s not realistic and ridiculous!
There’s also been some tactical challenges. My university teaching went to distance learning, so I had to scramble to make that happen. I’m not complaining, it just caused me to set my writing aside for a while. We also had a major hailstorm during 2020 in my town which required an insurance claim, lots of logistical wrangling, and some construction such as a new roof on our house.
Finally, there was the mental toll. I like to believe I’m a happy, levelheaded, stable person, which is a great blessing. But I am a worrier. I have three kids, one in high school, one in college, and one out on his own in the great big world. Early on, I was distraught over their situations and worried about my elderly mother who lives in Florida. I also have a sister that lives in California near the location of the mid-summer wildfires. There was good hunk of times, throughout the pandemic where I found I couldn’t focus enough to write. So it’s definitely slowed me down, even though there were some periods of when I paradoxically had more spare time.
I’m hoping at some point, I’ll be able to grow from it all. Despite my inclination for worry, I’m a positive person. I admit there have been times when I've interacted with people who struggle with mental hurdles such as depression, where I’ve been challenged to understand their situation. Like so many, things got dark for me early in the pandemic. I hope I find some deeper compassion from all this, an appreciation of how blessed I am, and possibly even some inspiration for future plots and themes.
The good news is that I have been writing steadily lately, and I'm happy to say that I've recently finished the first draft of my third book. Much editing to get through, but it's a great step for me. Thanks for the question, Tirza.
There’s also been some tactical challenges. My university teaching went to distance learning, so I had to scramble to make that happen. I’m not complaining, it just caused me to set my writing aside for a while. We also had a major hailstorm during 2020 in my town which required an insurance claim, lots of logistical wrangling, and some construction such as a new roof on our house.
Finally, there was the mental toll. I like to believe I’m a happy, levelheaded, stable person, which is a great blessing. But I am a worrier. I have three kids, one in high school, one in college, and one out on his own in the great big world. Early on, I was distraught over their situations and worried about my elderly mother who lives in Florida. I also have a sister that lives in California near the location of the mid-summer wildfires. There was good hunk of times, throughout the pandemic where I found I couldn’t focus enough to write. So it’s definitely slowed me down, even though there were some periods of when I paradoxically had more spare time.
I’m hoping at some point, I’ll be able to grow from it all. Despite my inclination for worry, I’m a positive person. I admit there have been times when I've interacted with people who struggle with mental hurdles such as depression, where I’ve been challenged to understand their situation. Like so many, things got dark for me early in the pandemic. I hope I find some deeper compassion from all this, an appreciation of how blessed I am, and possibly even some inspiration for future plots and themes.
The good news is that I have been writing steadily lately, and I'm happy to say that I've recently finished the first draft of my third book. Much editing to get through, but it's a great step for me. Thanks for the question, Tirza.
More Answered Questions
Chris PhD
asked
Kevin A. Kuhn:
I used to ride the train from Cary and then Crystal Lake when I worked in downtown Chicago. It was a nice surprise to discover your use of my old line (and accurate descriptions). I feel bad that most of your readers will not have this type of personal connection to the text. Did you used to live in Crystal Lake?
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