Write a short story

The argument

Sitting down and putting pen to paper is a great way to cope during lockdown, because it encourages expression and provides a sanctuary from reality. Proponents of writing during lockdown believe the practice can lead to overall mental health benefits, and the reasoning behind that belief has two strands. The first concerns expression. Writing gives a person somewhere to put what they are feeling, and freedom of expression is understood here as a healthy part of development rather than a luxury — something people need an outlet for, and which lockdown conditions make unusually hard to find. A short story supplies that outlet privately and on demand, with no audience required. The second strand concerns sense-making. Lockdown is a confusing and trying time, and confusion is precisely what narrative form is good at working on: to write a story is to take complicated thoughts and feelings and give them shape, sequence and consequence. The practice of writing short stories can be therapeutic, according to novelist Graham Greene, and the therapeutic effect on this account comes from that work of ordering — the writer is not escaping the difficulty so much as handling it at one remove, and in the process making some sense of the world around them. The short story form matters to the argument as well. Writing one will not be all-consuming; it asks for an afternoon rather than a commitment, which is what makes it available to someone whose attention and energy are already depleted by stress and worry. What it offers in return is a creative distraction from a reality that may otherwise be inescapable, and the mental benefits of that distraction are productive and helpful rather than merely diverting. For a skill to learn while social distancing, it is cheap, immediate and genuinely restorative.

Context

At a time where anything seems possible, crafting a short story is a valuable way to bring the strangest corners of your imagination to life. For centuries, the art form has been used to make complex points in a short space. Use all this thinking time, to write something beautiful and important.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Writing can be a useful tool for working through and expressing tough emotions, especially given the emotional rollercoaster brought about by the pandemic. But writing can also lead to more harm than good. Writing is a solitary pass-time and writers will often spend a lot of time alone. At a time where people have already been forced physically apart, retreating to a private space to write a short story encourages anti-social behaviour at a time when we need human contact more than ever, even if it is mostly virtual. Spending hours alone, inside, and at a desk staring at a screen trying (and perhaps struggling) to write can have the opposite effect of emotional expression, leading to depression and and disillusionment. The pressure may add to the existing anxiety and create added emotional strain. Writing can be a great outlet for emotional expression, but it requires a balance. Writers warn of writer's block and writing fatigue, and caution new writers to take the time for self care, taking regular breaks, ranging from hours to days to weeks, in order to relax and recharge. Writing is not for everyone, and for some it can do more harm than good.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The premise counts only the expressive side of the ledger: the counter notes that the activity is solitary, so at a moment when people have already been separated, retreating alone to write can deepen isolation at the point where contact matters most. [Rejecting P2] Writing does not reliably deliver the relief described — hours spent alone at a screen struggling to produce work can add pressure to existing anxiety and end in disillusionment rather than expression, which is why writers themselves warn about block and fatigue and advise scheduled breaks, and why the counter treats it as suiting some people and not others.