Season’s Greetings!
Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noel! Frohe Weihnachten! Buon Natale! God Jul! Hyvää Joulua! Vrolijk Kerstfeest!
However you say it, December is the season for going out, meeting others, and celebrating in whatever way you and your family and friends find enjoyable, even though it’s sometimes hard to summon up the energy on a wintry, dark night. I know why our celebrations are set in the darkest time of the year. I love the stories of our Christmas customs and how they began as solstice, Yule, and Saturnalia were absorbed in Christianity. A festival of light and renewal is very welcome in these dark, days. But we are overlooking one thing; we naturally want to hunker down and rest more when the winter arrives. It’s in the rhythms of our Northern hemisphere, temperate climate existence. Nature slows down too before springing back into life as the hours of daylight lengthen again.
So, if you are finding your writing is stuttering and stumbling along at this time of year, there might be a good reason linked to the season and our natural body reactions. Instead of beating yourself up over the lack of progress, reduce your expectations for a while, make notes instead. Or write about something that is linked to the season which you can use later. Have you ever found yourself trying to write about winter in the middle of the summer? It’s good to be able to draw on some notes or even images, taken on winter commutes or walks.
And perhaps we can use some tips from our heritage. Most people know of the traditions of Yule from the lights, the evergreens, the feasting, and the Yule log. But Yule was often a time for clearing clutter. How about spending some time editing instead? Or for sorting and renaming files? Investigating which stories or novels could do with a bit of tidying before you send them out again for competitions or to agents in the new year?
If December leaves you with little time and energy for writing, take some time off. You deserve it. Think if it as a Christmas present to yourself.