Bored Out of Our Minds

If you live in certain states, you may be facing a "stay-at-home" or "shelter-in-place" order. I live in one of those states, and believe me, it makes it very difficult not go insane from boredom. So what's a writer to do? You can't get together with friends and read your latest story or chapter aloud, and you can't hear their stories or chapters either. How can a teen have fun when they can't see their friends? Here's a couple suggestions:

• Find a way to share stories and chapters digitally, like on a blog or with a google doc.
• Email, or if it's available to you, text. Not just conversations, but riddles or chess moves. 
• If you want something more outside-the-box, try sending a letter or a hand-drawn picture with a note via snail mail. This is a fun way to stay in contact, even if it does take a little longer. But patience is good, right?
• Writing platforms such as Write the World, where writers world-wide can share their writing and receive feedback.
• Finally, there's the video chat. Whether it's Skype, Zoom, or Teams, seeing each other's faces and hearing each other's voices might lift spirits in these troubling times.

I'm sure there's lots of other ways to stay connected that I'm missing. These are just the ones I've tried. How are you staying connected?

Post-Covid Note: these techniques also work for long-distance writing relationships. If you have an out-of-state or out-of-country writing friend, these are great ways to stay in touch.