Why I Wrote Viral
The pandemic happened. Like everyone else, I had all sorts of thoughts and opinions about it. As weeks turned into months reflected on life under lockdown, analysed the way the media reported it and questioned the decisions of the government. All the while, I longed for normality to fully return.
I’m not one for verbal debates about negative things. I’d rather write things down instead. That way, I’m letting them go without having to listen to other people sharing their beliefs and amplifying the negativity.
That’s how Viral was created. It’s the first in the two-part Viral series.
Viral
This first instalment looks at:
‘Lockdown’
‘'The Government’
‘The Media’
Over the course of a few months in 2021, I put fingers to keys and began writing Viral. I didn’t have any set goal in mind. All I wanted was a funnel through which I could release what I was thinking about the pandemic. After writing the first one, I knew I’d end up writing more and putting them together in an e-book.
Where Viral Started
The first piece I wrote for Viral was ‘Taped-off Benches’. This is piece #5.
At the time, everyone was only allowed outside once per day. When I was out for my daily walk, I noticed some benches had tape on them. They looked ridiculous. It was absurd to think that something as simple as a bench could be deemed a health risk.
Sitting down wasn’t allowed because the longer they lingered, the more chance there was of the virus being spread. So, they had to keep moving.
I couldn’t believe how far things had come and how invasive, overreaching and micromanaging the rules and regulations had become. With ‘Taped-off Benches’, I imagined an elderly couple needing a rest but not being allowed to do just that. It’s only a short piece, but it encapsulates one of the core messages of Viral, that the list of things we couldn’t do was too long and, frankly, unbelievable.
I continued writing random pieces and didn’t think about organising them in any way. Some are fictional stories that could well have happened in real life. Others are tirades aimed at people who have far too much power.
Why I Called It Viral
I didn’t know what I was going to call Viral for a few weeks. When I wrote the piece ‘The Virus of the Social Media Generation’ (#37), I got to thinking about how the pandemic was about as viral as you could get. It was all people everywhere were talking about. It dominated the headlines day in, day out; nothing else was getting any attention, it seemed.
I decided to name the e-book Viral because it’s not only about a virus, it’s about how many other things went viral and affected us in all sorts of ways.
How Long Was Viral Going to Be?
Initially, I didn’t want Viral to be a big project. I told myself I would stop at 10,000 words or so. However, before I knew it I had surpassed this goal and was still full of ideas. I then set myself a second limit of 20,000 words. After passing this, I forced myself to stop, mainly because I wanted to focus on other, more positive projects instead.
Of course, one e-book turned into two. I finished Viral but the pandemic was still ongoing and there was a lot more for me to say.
At first, I was tempted to make Viral much longer. I’d already split it into three sections (‘Lockdown’, ‘‘The Government’ and ‘The Media’) but I considered adding more. In the end, I decided to publish what I’d already written and save the extra content for another e-book: Viral: Moving On.
I decided to name it Viral: Moving On because I sincerely hoped that the worst of the pandemic was behind us. I fervently wanted the world to get back on track with no more virus-related setbacks.
Viral: Moving On
This second instalment looks at:
‘Post-Lockdown’
‘Lessons’
‘The Future’
The pandemic is something we’ve all gone through together. We’ve all got opinions on how it was handled and what could have been done differently. For example, some think the restrictions were too harsh, whilst others believe they were lenient. It’s very much a contentious issue, especially if you’ve suffered losses because of it.
Will There Be a Third Instalment?
The answer to this question is a big fat NO! I’m done writing about the dreadful pandemic and everything it weighed us down with. It certainly gave me food for thought, but I’ve regurgitated that food, spat it out unceremoniously and walked away.
None of my other e-books references the pandemic in any way. None of my future projects will either, you’ll be glad to hear.
Read Viral If You Haven’t Already
Download Viral and see what I have to say about the pandemic. If it doesn’t drain you, check out Viral: Moving On too.
Here are the links:
Viral - Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Google Play
Viral: Moving On - Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Google Play
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