Writing when you're ill?

[Rob_Royale]

I almost wrote 'writing when you're sick' but I realized that question is open to interpretation.
So, as I'm sitting here battling a flu bug trying to decide between writing or Skyrim and I was wondering if you guys take advantage of the 'downtime' when your ill and getting some writing done or does feeling bad squash that creative drive?
Ordinarily it kills it for me, but I'm feeling rather motivated, surprisingly enough.

 

[StillStunned]

I'm self-employed. If I can write, I can work.

Speaking of which, I've only done 9 hours today, so it's back to the coalface for me.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

When I was bedridden last year, there were times in which I didn't want to write. Those times were not too often though. Most of it I managed to crank out at least a short story out of it, still daily.

If I should say something about this, it'd be to listen to your body. Recovery might be a better option in most cases.

 

[Djmac1031]

Yeah no, being ill absolutely kills any desire to write for me.

Hope you feel better soon

 

[TheLobster]

Depends on the bug. If it’s just sore throat and sniffles, totally; if it’s more like everyone’s favorite 2020 virus that makes you super tired, probably not.

 

[old_prof]

It depends on what way I feel under the weather. Post knee surgery, when it was just pain, I particularly liked editing. There's a special kind of zen to editing. But writing (or reading) was not really possible. I have a head cold this weekend. I did no writing what soever yesterday because of it. The fuzziness of that makes me pretty useless.

 

[SmilingLez]

If I have a fever, and start writing poetry, it comes out strange. Not the structure itself, but the subject.

 

[WaxPhilosophic]

I once wrote a story when I had strep throat. The steroid meds kept me awake all hours, so why not?

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I almost wrote 'writing when you're sick' but I realized that question is open to interpretation.
So, as I'm sitting here battling a flu bug trying to decide between writing or Skyrim and I was wondering if you guys take advantage of the 'downtime' when your ill and getting some writing done or does feeling bad squash that creative drive?
Ordinarily it kills it for me, but I'm feeling rather motivated, surprisingly enough.

It depends on how the illness makes my head feel.

Aches in my body typically won't affect my desire to write, where something as minor as a stuffy nose can drain me of all interest in writing.

 

[IWroteThis]

A lot of my writing is converting the actions playing out in my head into words. Sometimes that happens in real time at my computer, but a lot of the story development happens in that semi-wakeful period before I give up and get out of bed. It rattles around up there until I can type it out or it fades away. When I'm sick and stuck in bed, I just create a bigger backlog to transcribe.

 

[crookedletter]

No. I'm pretty useless when I'm under the weather, whether it's a cold or a hangover or I have one foot in the grave. I'm not much a go-getter at the best of times; when I feel crappy I go full sloth.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I wrote my Smoking Hot series when I had Covid, in bed on my phone, under the influence of rather a lot of opiates, though I did edit a bit on my PC once I was well enough.

A lot of my writing involves thinking through a plot and characters, so that's a good way to pass the time when totally unable to do anything else. But yes, being officially off work is a good time to do hobby writing of all sorts. And a lot of my writing happens when I have insomnia or pain stops me sleeping. The meds and being exhausted may explain a lot of my more surreal metaphors, not to mention the number of disabled protagonists.

If it hurts too much to hold a phone, then that stops me writing much.

Unfortunately it's much easier to concentrate enough to write a story than to focus on the work I'm paid to do.

 

[anthrodisiac]

I'm never not in pain, so for the most part I'm perfectly fine writing through discomfort and sickness. But if it's something that adds lethargy on top of it, there are definitely times where I conserve my energy, because I definitely don't write at my best when I'm super tired.

 

[Writer61]

Depends on whether my head is clear. When befuddled, writing is impossible or pointless because of the need to rewrite.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Dear RR,

Enclosed, please find one care package:

Flowers to brighten your sickbed

Medicine for the bug

Chicken soup for the body

A hot toddy for the spirit, PRN.

 

[Erozetta]

At the very beginning, yeah, I can write and usually do. Once I'm into the "Oh, I'm *sick* sick" phase, I'm pretty much dead to the world.

 

[PapaRomantic]

If my illness involves something like a headache or sinus pressure or tooth or ear pain, then no, I won't write. Too distracted by the pain.

For something like a chest cold, I usually can write. I also wrote a lot following knee replacement surgery. Pain doesn't seem to stop me, as long as it's not in my head.

 

[Writer61]

I also wrote a lot following knee replacement surgery. Pain doesn't seem to stop me, as long as it's not in my head.

Similar experience. The ability to think straight is the key criterion.

 

[ericalauren]

I’m chronically ill and disabled by pain and fatigue. I’m always in Dante’s seventh circle of hell, or worse. Thus, if I never wrote while I’m sick, I’d never write at all. I’m so grateful for the Notes app on my iPhone. I use it to write while I’m in bed.

 

[MK_Whimsy]

Sure. In addition to having little energy to do much else, I also find that I have more ideas when I'm sick. The biggest problem is that the illness puts a damper on the energy level I have to get too invested in what I'm writing.