Our words are a proxy for everything we can’t do at the moment.

We can’t meet people; touch them, hug, laugh, persuade, smile, show, flirt, reassure, explain, commiserate, calm. We can’t just be with each other, passing the time doing nothing in particular, sharing the everyday mundane things that connect us - but our words can do at least some of that for us.

Here’s how to make your writing feel more immediate and alive while you’re isolating.

I get it. You’re worried about your business, your life, the universe and everything. Emotional, stressed, overtired, trapped, anxious - you’re finding it hard to focus on anything, let alone writing for a business that’s feeling scarily precarious.

But if you want to write now - and there are lots of reasons why you might - here are some pointers on where to put your attention.