Painting With Light

For a long time, I wasn’t a very consistent writer. I figured whenever inspiration struck, I would write. Until then, I preferred to do other things with my time.

As a consequence, I didn’t get much better at my craft.

However, several years ago, I started forcing myself to write a little every day, and I was shocked. Pages that once took three hours only took thirty minutes, and my writing got much better.

It became my new mantra. If I wanted to get better at my craft, I had to write every day.

Even during Christmas? You might think, “Oh, it’s okay if I don’t write today. It’s a holiday.” But, I think you’ll be missing out on a huge opportunity, and here are three reasons why.

You’re Going to Be Around a Lot of People
Good creative writing is always about people. During the holidays, many of us spend more time around people than any other season. What better time is there to study their mannerisms and actions?

You’ll be talking to many people, so ask them questions. Pay close attention to the details of their actions. Paying attention to people this week could inspire dozens of new stories.

Holidays are Transformational
The holidays leading up to the New Year are periods of liminal space, which means it is often a period of transformation.

How does this apply to writing? The easiest way to put it: fiction is almost always about watching a character change.

For instance, Elizabeth Bennet (in Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice) starts the story prejudiced…and ends up in love. Jean Valjean (the protagonist of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables) begins as a criminal and ends a saint.

The idea is the same in either case. We love reading about people who change, and the holidays are all about change. So, pay attention and see how people around you have changed this Christmas.

This includes you!

You Pay More Attention to the Details During the Holidays
For instance, the other day, while watching the bird-feeder outside my dining room, I saw several little birds on the railing of my deck. There was also a blue jay and red-headed woodpecker.

I watched for a long time as they seemed to take turns at the seed-filled block of suet on the bird-feeder pole next to the deck.

It’s been there all fall, but I always chose to ignore it. I realized it wasn’t that I had more time now to notice these things. I just finally took the time to breathe in deep, sip my coffee slow…and look.

You should give it a try and, if you’re smart and lucky, you’ll even take a little time to write about it.

Happy Holidays!

**********

Gentle Readers, my books have all garnered some terrific reviews. You can see all of them by using the Amazon link below. Check them out. Better yet, buy one and read it. You just might like it.

**********

You’re invited to visit my author’s website, BROKEN GLASS to hear the remarkable radio interview about my novel “Blood Lake” on The Authors Show, or see my three local television interviews. You can also like my Book of Face page, find me on Goodreads, or follow my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

**********

Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags: award-winning author, award-winning writing, storytelling

This entry was posted on December 27, 2019 at 10:30 pm and is filed under Independent Publishing, Storytelling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.