A Writer's Notebook, Day Nine-Hundred-And-Seventy-Four

Circumstances over the last few months have made me feel very trapped.  This is not only the sense of being insulated and isolated of the pandemic, but also related to other issues.  Those who frequent this blog will think about my difficulties, at present, with rejections for my writing, and that is a factor, but as well, I am dealing with other issues, particularly some centered around my home and relationships with my family.  The thing is, that sense of being trapped has also got me feeling stuck in my writing.  I am down and often can't get myself to do a lot of work on things beyond a short piece or a poem that I know I will draft to the end.  Even more, the themes that I am dealing with all feel very derivative of the current circumstances.  Well, not all of them, as I do find things to right about at times, but most of my writing, and I even wonder at the influence on these other pieces.  One cannot separate the work from life: their is always a reflection between them, and I want to write work that does not come from this place, but it is where I am.  How do I free my work without freeing myself first?  And if that is not possible, what must I do to move from my current predicament.

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