Relationships will always be a source of inspiration for writers. The fictional world a writer creates would simply fall apart without the problems and joys that relationships give to that world. Further, relationships offer the writer timeless themes to explore, for example: jealousy, love, unrequited love, hate and passion. So - my writer-self wonders what the current Corona crisis is doing to relationships - those networks of people holding your novel together. Certainly, the situation in which we find ourselves is a novel one, and the virus's impact on relationships is a tempting theme. Perhaps your Corona novel includes a character who assumes that his/her relationship is on the rocks. S/he has made the wrong choice of partner. Just look at his/her bad behaviours emerging at this time of crisis. Why did s/he not see it before? But the writer can contrast appearance with the reality. The bad behaviours in question are simply aspects of personality which emerge with fear or are a result of established coping mechanisms - drinks with friends, pets, the gym, or work - that are no longer there. The possibilities are endless.
In the fictional world, themes of expectations and reality are perennial favourites and Corona, the lockdown and the hoarding of supermarket products offer the writer some interesting possibilities.
He: Darling, I have brought you a present.
She: Oh, how wonderful, darling. Let me see.
He: They only had two left.
She: Oh, darling - rolls of toilet paper - and with a smell of roses. How wonderful!
He: I knew you would like them. They are 3-ply and extra strong for those...difficult, testing and intimate moments.
She: They are wonderful, darling. No, you are wonderful and so caring about my personal hygiene. We can beat this evil - together... I can't wait to do my bit and test out this paper...oh, darling...
Stop! No passionate embrace can follow, young lady! There are social distancing rules to follow, and the bottom line is that although the new virus is not sexually transmitted, a passionate embrace necessitates a good deal of saliva-swapping and face-to-face contact, not to mention licking and, perhaps, in extreme cases, assorted bodily twining movements. After all, both our characters know that the risk of transmitting the virus - if s/he or his/her significant other has it - is very high. And this is the bottom line - if you will excuse my wording. So, in the novel, s/he must seal his/her lips, get off his/her back and bite his or her tongue. It's painful.
The problems faced by our two lovers are somewhat eased by knowing that their leader, Boris Johnson himself, has insinuated that they should seek solace in the example of Britain in 1940. Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag, stand alone, give the virus a damned good drubbing and send it packing back to Europe where it came from. The pandemic won't last forever, but while it is upon him/her, the best thing for the long-term health of our two characters is to abstain from partnered sex, keep his/her chin up, his/her upper lip stiff and remember that he and she will meet again and engage, perhaps, in something a little more intimate.
And it could be tomorrow - amongst the blue bells on the white cliffs - just you wait and see.
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