 Action/Adventure: March 18, 2020 Issue [#10073] |
This week: Extraordinary Times Edited by: Storm Machine  
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Every company who has ever received my email, it seems, is telling me what they’re doing for me during this time of pandemic. Even the ones I haven't heard from or used in years and completely forgotten I had ever shared. My adventures are deciding what’s worth leaving the house for, and what I’m doing with the time.
We had planned and then cancelled a vacation for this spring break week, so we were nearly out of everything this week, so it required a couple trips to get what we need for a week or two. (More than that is hoarding, if you’re curious, and it will cause shortages for those who need it more than you do.)
The soap aisles are barren, along with the cleaning products and toilet paper. If you've ever wondered how people are different, start to look at what they're picking up when they’re out at the store.
My friend tied Lysol wipes to my car, making an oddly fitting hood ornament. I had to destroy the bags to get it off, and almost drove home with them sitting there. We’re pretty sure that store is doling out certain products every so many hours so there’s enough when someone needs something. So many pictures are floating around about 2 packages of toilet paper per purchase.
That friend needed the Lysol wipes this week, because both her daughters had Influenza A within the last couple weeks. A second friend’s son was sent home with his cough at 9am, and he was the tenth person to be sent home by that hour. He had strep throat. These things still exist, too.
From my personal experience, as well as my husband’s, we’re observing the people around us, and wondering what some of them are thinking. The shortage of toilet paper brings around the question of what are you using instead, if you’re out? Kleenex is not your best option, though we’ve seen people grab it. Paper towels? Washcloths (if you have a machine in your home)? Baby wipes? (That’s our favorite, and we know how to make them from paper towels, too.) My friend has an amazing shower wand that will double as a bidet, which seems like a great option.
But what else do you see in those shopping carts? What do you think about that person who shoves several entire flats of canned tuna in their shopping cart? The person who chose to buy fifteen multipacks of bottled water (45 each)? What about more obvious things that might spoil quickly? I hope they know that bacteria grows in water bottles, too, but not everyone gets that.
Use the social media around you to get a better idea of the people you’re surrounded with – are they concerned? Your Uber Driver on Twitter was talking about his journey in Florida taking people to go clubbing. Many of my friends have decided to read books on Facebook Live for their own kids and others who might be watching.
In the news stories, some guy has over 17 000 bottles of hand sanitizer. Do you think the government will confiscate that? What about his friends and neighbors, when they read that?
There’s an element of belief here, like climate change and terrorism and Y2K. Will it affect you? Are you immune? Is your character? These times allow us to look at how real people are reacting and also how to make our characters more believable. We write an apocalypse, but if we don’t feel these small moments of want and need and belief – we won’t connect to the characters.
My daughter isn’t handling the pressure of all the children in her school joking about the virus very well. It’s stressful for her and we’re trying to find ways through her anxiety. Schools across the river have closed for a couple weeks, but we’re supposedly going back after spring break. All the colleges have moved to online learning.
My congregation is very socially conscious, and we’re closed the building and grounds. The messages emphasize the need to not congregate so we’re all safer. The building will be deep-cleaned during the break, and worship has moved online.
My husband's birthday is St Patrick's Day, as is a friend's. She planned to do the parade in Boston, but pretty much every parade has been cancelled. How do your plans change, for one specific day versus a normal average workday or day off? Do the closings bother you, or are you the introvert thriving in the isolation?
Adventures can be on a small basis. What about getting the mail? Do you wait to open packages? Do you think about how much those items have been handled? What about the money exchanged when we use cash? The card reader? Do you wash your hands the moment you get home? Do you think about the germs in your car? What items will get you through if we self-quarantine at home for a time? Most of us here would say books- all kinds of books and paper and pens. (Who can get by with just one?)
What is it that guides your character (or yourself) through this time? If it's denial, that it simply can't happen to your character, what does that say about the character? Maybe it's a super hero story and that person really is invincible. Maybe they're going to get in trouble. Write it more than one way, see the consequences, and make it memorable. Even that character with denial has a lot to teach people if we write it.
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I'm your newest regular Editor for Action Adventure! I'm so happy to be joining you.
As an exercise, write about your characters. Write about the people you see in your daily life and read about on social media and the news. Why do they do what they do? How are they alike and different?
StephBee 
Great topic for the newsletter.
Thanks!
Monty 
Space that final frontier, Letters, memories, fine places for action adventure.
I love space.
Elycia Lee ☮ 
This is a really good point. Remembering things when we are alone. I am just reading a story that is entirely letters to someone. Perks of the Wallflower. A rather good read. And I imagine myself writing letters to somebody. It could happen.
Sounds like an interesting book. |
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