The July–August 2020 issue of Poets & Writers includes a feature titled “Authors on Creativity in Quarantine.” Thirteen authors describe their (in)ability to write during the COVID-19 lockdown. Many include general ruminations on the writing life. Among the statements that resonated with me: “Writing is a form of dissociation. In the hours of real absorption, you leave behind your room, your body, even the mind you imagine as your own. I needed badly to experience that freedom precisely because I sensed how long it would be before I would have it again” (Author Adam Haslett). Psychologists define dissociation as “ranging from a mild emotional detachment from one’s immediate surroundings to a more severe disconnection from physical and emotional experiences.” In contrast to this mental disorder, writing more fully immerses me in the thoughts, feelings, and physicality of my characters, and the sensory attributes of the environment I’m creating. Hence I prefer the term “heightened engagement” to describe the writing process. Authors dissociate from the immediate world in order to associate more intensely with our imagined one. For more of my thoughts on writing, see REFLECTIONS.
