This week in my journal, my character’s father catches the virus and is hospitalized. Astrid (my character) is unable to see him, not only because it would be dangerous to go to him physically, but because she’s not allowed to leave her house. This is something I sort of struggled with; I’ve never had a huge tragedy happen in my family or close friends, so writing from the perspective of someone whose father is sick and likely going to die is difficult for me. I’ve had to really put myself in Astrid’s shoes to imagine what it would be like to not even see her father when he’s sick. Getting the grief across in a journal is easier than in a regular story, because it’s a place where Astrid spills all her genuine feelings, but I’ve had to really spend a lot of time on getting the voice right because it’s not something I’ve ever experience before and is yet such a strong and important moment in her life.