Sunday, December 7, 2008

Saturday Soirée - Writing during the holidays

Just when you felt that you were finally getting a hang of maintaining a writing routine, just when your family and friends have begun to think that maybe, just maybe you are a writer after all because you’re so disciplined, just when you were learning to disregard those negative voices in your head, and just when you were beginning to warm to the idea of actually calling yourself a writer, up comes the Christmas holidays and everything that goes with it. Your writing seems to be heading out the door to make room for decorating, shopping, parties and entertaining.

To maintain your writing practice:

Steal away
Normally you might attend to your regular daily chores, shower and settle down to write in your own little corner. Beautiful. But like most holidays, Christmas can be jam-packed with all manner of tasks and commitments. Burdensome as they could be, you usually enjoy the traditional fanfare and festivities. The only problem is that it can be difficult to find your way to your writing space. Instead you literally have to steal away. If that is what it takes, then you have no choice or you may well find your passion weak and listless after the holidays.

Write about all that's going on.
When the festivities begin and the relatives turn up at your door, write about everything that’s happening - happy occurrences, funny episodes, sad moments. Write about them all. That’s what a writer does, isn't it? Whatever s going on around you slip into your writing zone and pen your thoughts, your feelings and your observations

Holidays are a storehouse of material because it is filled with memory-making moments and a cornucopia of emotions. Don't let the holidays steal your writing time. You may have to adjust the time and even the place. If writing is important to you, if it is indeed your passion, then you will make every sacrifice to spend time with it.

2 comments:

Joanne said...

It's true, the holiday season does have a way of nudging right into life, taking over from time to time. But I like how you suggest using the holiday time to our writer advantage, mining the experiences for future stories. The right outlook brings more words to the page!

Cheryl Wright said...

Good morning Joanne,

"Mining" is the word all right. Many people mine their life experiences for valuable nuggets to help them through the rest of their life's journey. Writer's I think and I suppose creative people in general, have the advantage to mine life's experiences to inspire, create, enhance and advance their craft, their art, their passion.

 
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