Combatting Distractions—M.G. Sondraal
I like to write in silence, every crevasse of my brain filled with the sounds and sights of my imagined creation. It is as alive to me as the real world. But when reality is chaotic, how can I concentrate on writing and escape into a place where I have total control?
Lately, the news has been particularly horrendous. Distantly, there is continuing war in Ukraine, destruction of Gaza, fires in Los Angeles, repetitive school shootings, and, for us in Canada, the mad rampaging of the elephant to the south. In a world where more bullies than ever are in power, our southern neighbour seems determined to become the biggest bully of all, ably supported by homegrown sycophants and oligarchs.
Clearly as the US becomes more protectionist, more rabidly nationalistic, more fearful, they are no longer our friend and ally. At best, they are an unpredictable acquaintance with borderline personality disorder who can turn on us in an instant. We can never forget that. Our relationship with them is forever changed and offers of friendship and delays of tariffs that will crush our economy and theirs are best viewed with suspicion.
I find myself distracted by history. We’ve seen this before in the thirties—a rise in nationalism, mistrust in institutions, misinformation, racism, isolationism—and the world watched and did nothing until the only option left was war. (The US continued to watch and do nothing until forced to respond when Pearl Harbour was bombed. Had that never happened, I suspect they would have continued to observe and do nothing. Hmm, that would be an interesting story.)
We’re doing the same now. We watch (albeit with horror) at the descent of America, and I wonder (with considerable anxiety) what we can do to stop it. Sadly, I doubt we can. People get the government they deserve. We must be mindful of our own swing to the right in this country and focus our efforts here to prevent being sucked into the maelstrom happening below us on the map.
With all this angst about an unstable present and imagined future, how can I concentrate to write fiction? I don’t know. I’ve stopped watching the news to reduce my anxiety. I listen to trusted national news reports episodically, enough so I know what’s happening but limited for my mental health. Comments about annexing our entire country as a 51st state, taking over Greenland and the Panama Canal, or renaming bodies of water are meant to wind me up and are not serious but I get upset nevertheless at the stupidity. I worry that Americans without WHO will be uninformed and ill-prepared for the next pandemic though it could solve some problems. (Is there a way to target a virus? Another germ of a story—pun intended.) Whether we could adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude and offer no assistance to the undeserving remains unknown. (Another possibility.)
Perhaps viewing world events as opportunities for speculative fiction is the best way forward for me. Reframing the problem I believe. At least it will purge some of my rage as I sip non-Starbuck’s coffee, search for Canadian kitty litter and cat food, and source food stuffs from Canada, or at least anywhere but the USA. Canada’s already great and we’ll survive the bully on the continent. Hopefully I can still be productive as a writer while we do.
What’s your strategy when the world overwhelms you? I’m looking for any and all suggestions.