Should You Write a Virus Story During a Pandemic?

Probably not.

Let me save you a lot of time and effort and suggest you do something else. How do I know? Because I finished the first draft of a virus book in December of 2019. 

I started planning that book in 2016. I was in law school at the time and wasn’t able to write, but I did make notes and I read a bunch of books about viruses for research. Even though it’s not 100% accurate, THE HOT ZONE by Richard Preston remains one of my favorite non-fiction books simply because it’s entertaining.

I’ve always been interested in biology and medicine, so writing about viruses wasn’t much of a stretch for me. However, if you’re trying to find a trendy book topic I would avoid anything related to viruses or plagues. 

I don’t think anyone wants additional reminders of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s 2022 and COVID is still here. In March of 2020 I remember people speculating that the virus would be over in a few weeks, that it would go away after a few months, that the pandemic would get better after a year. It’s been two years. We are still waiting.

In March 2020 I wasn’t sure how publishing would respond to my virus story. I’d gotten feedback from some friends in my writing group who really liked it, and after thinking about the concept for three years I was very attached to the characters and the world I’d created.

Instead of obsessing about the news or the fate of my book, I decided to do camp nano in April and May of 2020. I needed a distraction. If I couldn’t go anywhere in reality, I would go somewhere else mentally.

I drafted my new book REDSIGHT in two months. Somehow, despite everything that was going on at the time, I managed to write 200k words in roughly a six month period. I haven’t tried to do that since then but it was a lot of fun.

Even though I had to let go of a book I loved it taught me a really important lesson: sometimes you have to set aside projects that aren’t working. 

Maybe you’ve invested a lot of time into something, maybe your novel is well written but there’s no market for your story, maybe you have a great concept but you don’t have the skills to make the book what you want it to be—whatever the reason, it’s ok to write something totally new. 

I don’t think of that first book as a waste of time because I learned so much about writing and my process by creating it. I wouldn’t have been able to write REDSIGHT without those skills. I truly think every “failed” project teaches you something. And having a failed book teaches you to let go of your work to a degree and continue creating.

If you’re trying to pursue traditional publication, there will be events that are out of your control. As one person you can’t change the industry or world events, but you can always write a new book.

That said, feel free to disregard my advice. Sometimes the best books break all of the rules. If you are really passionate about writing a virus book and you don’t want to write anything else, then do what makes you happy. (I still love books about viruses and plagues so please prove me wrong).