As I’m writing this post, the entire world is the midst of fighting the COVID19 pandemic. While every person, family, and community is impacted differently, we all are experiencing changes in our lives that we hadn’t planned for and hadn’t wished for.

With so many people stuck at home and/or out of work, many folks are taking up writing. And many full- and part-time writers are continuing to plug away at their projects, either writing more or less than before, depending on how their lifestyle has changed.

I’ve seen numerous blog posts over the past few weeks advising writers to take advantage of this time to write more and sell more ebooks. I’ve also seen numerous blogs posts advising writers to scale back, stop stressing about daily word counts, and practice self-care.

So which is the best advice? Should you write harder and write more, or take a break? Should you stop writing your genre fiction piece and start a blog for moms struggling with keeping kids entertained? If you’ve never written before and want to start now, where should you begin?

Well, I’m hardly a writing expert, but here’s my advice, for what it’s worth: write about whatever the heck you want to. Tell the story, express the emotions, give the advice that you feel you need to at this time. Yes, the world needs your voice.

Journal your fears, anxieties, and dreams.

Write essays about your family facing these new struggles, or your community coming together in this time of crisis.

Write poems about darkness and despair.

Write songs about beauty and hope.

Blog your creative ideas to encourage and enlighten others.

Write that life-changing memoir or literary work that will touch emotions and provoke deep thought.

Write that frivolous novel or short story that’s mere “entertainment.” Fictional tales of overcoming, of hope, of joy and fun, are always needed, especially during a time of crisis.

All stories are important, all writing is important. Only you can decide if you want to alter your current writing or publishing goals right now. But what really matters, is writing. Write a little, write a lot.

If you have words to say, now and when this crisis is past, just write.