An author in lockdown

[snoop1130]

 

On the face of it, a global pandemic should be perfect for a writer. It requires society to keep itself at arms length, maintain a respectable social distance, visit nowhere, apart perhaps from the pharmacist or the greengrocer. It should be a boon for a writer. There is a perceived wisdom; all a writer needs is an idea, a pen and lashings of solitude – right? Well, only partly right. Let me explain.

 

I was last in my beloved Thailand, a year ago. It was there, as I prepared for a brief visit to Europe, an expat friend questioned my judgement.

 

‘Flying back to London, Frank? Are you sure? This Covid thing looks worse there than here. I’d stay put if I were you.’

 

This was March 2020, and the early days of the plague. Thailand had been one of the first countries, after China, to report cases and some were holding their breath, waiting for the disease to grip. In England, people were only just beginning to look over their shoulders; still telling themselves it was someone else’s problem.

 

‘I have to get back; I have some banking to sort out.’ I replied indifferently.

 

All true; I was in the middle of buying an apartment and needed to sort out the finance. Something also told me I might be better off in England though; for a while anyway. Europe would handle the crisis better and once the dust had settled, I’d be back. A few short months should do it. How wrong I was; particularly because the apartment in question was in Chiang Mai…

 

Back in the watery sunshine of a Sussex Spring, I quickly sorted out my funding and sat down to scope out the new novel. It was to be set in nineteenth century Siam – a political and espionage thriller, with a cast of vibrant English and Siamese characters. I was excited. Then, as my thoughts started to come together, the Thai travel restrictions were announced. I convinced myself that by August all would be well, so with plot ideas rumbling around in my head, and an assortment of scribblings, I settled down to write the first chapters in England.  

 

One of the challenges of writing a historical novel, set in a faraway country, is to deliver authenticity. I pride myself on realism, and I relish the chance to research the terrain. To be honest, the exploration is usually the best part of creating a story – that, and the sense of total immersion.  When writing my earlier novels, I’d spent extended periods in some of the remoter parts of Thai border country, meeting folk who treated ‘farang’s’ as amusing novelties. I trudged up mountain trails, through dense, bird filled forests, to descend to sparkling river valleys. I always wanted a chance to experience what my characters might have felt. But now, here I was, marooned in a flat just outside Brighton, and worse, I was stuck in a cramped loft space with a view over Tesco’s carpark, with strict orders to stay put.

 

I reverted to the internet for company, but informative as it was, the feel, the atmosphere, the essence of the place I aspired to write about was somehow missing. I tried to imagine myself back; I yearned for the solitary veranda in Baan Nam Suaay, with its view over emerald green rice fields, the smell of lemongrass, the shack I’d rented above the western reaches of the Mekong River, the spice market in Nong Khai; I could go on. After a month of wrestling with the wrong words, I gave up on ancient Siam – nothing worked. To write about Thailand, I needed to be there. The internet and the guide books were no substitute for serendipity and boots on the ground.

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/travel-and-leisure/an-author-in-lockdown/

 

-- © Copyright Expat Life in Thailand 2021-05-21

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[1FinickyOne]

I think an author also needs some life and living to stimulate the brain... 

 

then a quiet atmosphere when putting pen to paper... which is what being up at 5 a.m. is all about. - or isolation.

[Colabamumbai]

Have half a dozen books for sale on Amazon / Kindle. Last years sales worst ever. People do not seem to be reading more, but home more. 

[brianthainess]

Well going by your long post, you have a novel already. ????

[CALSinCM]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

This was March 2020, and the early days of the plague.

"The plague."  20% of the Earth's population wiped out and bodies where stacked up in the street like cord wood?  That sort of Plague? 

Reality.  As of May 22 the official total number of Covid related deaths rounded is less than 3.5 million out of population of 7.9 billion.  So to date approximately 0.0443% of the Earth's population died of Covid related sickness (most elderly and with other significant health problems) and 99.956% are alive and kicking. 
*** Plague ***  
No, it is not.
Tragic that 3.5 million people have dies of Covid related illnesses between it's release in 2019 until present.  But how many people realize that the the annual all-cause mortality for the world is over 55 million people per year!.  Yeah, on average 55+ million people die each year from some cause.  That's tragic too.  But keep it in perspective.

God I detest hyperbole.  Especially in these times.  Then you wonder why thinking people are vaccine hesitant? They see through the hyperbole and then have questions that go unanswered. 
But for all the authors out there who believe Covid is a plague.  Then please stay where you are and don't travel.  Don't become a vector spreading the virus because you feel the need for visual stimulation.  Stay home and watch a travelogue.  Then you're less likely to become a Covid spreader.
So I thank the author for staying put in Brighton.  That was responsible. 

[1FinickyOne]

47 minutes ago, CALSinCM said:

God I detest hyperbole.  Especially in these times.

ME too, I really really really hate it! Especially NOW, this moment, today!!

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

Have half a dozen books for sale on Amazon / Kindle. Last years sales worst ever. People do not seem to be reading more, but home more. 

Heard it said that there are more people writing books than reading them... [and that was years ago]