6 – Three Ways Writers Can Act Like Grownups During the Pandemic
With the worldwide focus on COVID-19, it’s important that those of us who own writing-related businesses act like grownups during the pandemic.
Frankly, a lot of people are not acting like adults.
But we can fix that. In this special edition of The Professional Writer podcast, I’ll show you how to:
- Correctly refer to COVID-19 in written communications (check out the Word Nerd Moment below)
- Quell the panic – both internal panic and the anxiety of others
- Evaluate your business plan
Warning: You may get offended by what I have to say about evaluating your business plan. But I have a valid reason for dispensing this advice from atop my soapbox.
Three questions you can ask yourself as you evaluate your business plan:
- What obstacles am I facing during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- What obstacles do I anticipate facing in the coming weeks and months?
- What strategies can I put in place to counter those obstacles, improve my processes, and strengthen my writing-related business?
Word Nerd Moment
The correct use of COVID-19
As writers, we bear a responsibility for correctly using the name of the disease in our written and oral communications. This information will help you do that.
The official name of the disease, COVID-19, was coined Feb 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO).
COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by a new or novel (meaning new) coronavirus. The disease was discovered in China in December 2019. There are many types of human coronaviruses.
The acronym COVID-19 refers to:
CO = corona
VI = virus
D = disease
19 = the year the virus was discovered in China
When you write about this particular virus, refer to it as COVID-19.
It is also commonly referred to as coronavirus disease. Note that there is no capitalization or hyphenation – coronavirus is all one word, lowercase. Disease is another word, also lowercase.
Epidemic vs pandemic
The difference is in the scale of the biological outbreak.
- An epidemic disease occurs at the level of a region or community.
- A pandemic is an epidemic that has spread over a large area. The word pandemic is usually reserved for diseases that have spread across continents or the entire world.
Word origins:
The -demic part of epidemic and pandemic comes from the Greek dêmos, “people of a district.” This root also ultimately gives English the word democracy.
The prefix epi– is Greek and means on, upon, near, or at
The Greek prefix –pan means all.
Resources Mentioned
- Science and Tech Dictionary – COVID-19
- TIME
- Dictionary.com – epidemic/pandemic
- The Life Coach School podcast with Brooke Castillo
- West Coast Christian Writers Online Conference
- Scripture Union Encounter With God (Psalm 46 devotional)
How to Keep Up With the Show
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https://bloggingbistro.com/podcast
Thank you!
Laura