Three Ideas To Inspire Your Writing During The Holidays and Christmas Wishes

At certain times of the year, it can be more of a challenge to get into a productive frame of mind. Here are three tips to keep you on top of your writing during the holidays.

  

Travel as fodder for sparkling settings
Whether you are driving or boarding a flight to a holiday destination, there are hundreds of ideas to help with the setting of your story. Tap into your surroundings, engage your senses and always have a notebook ready.
 
Use family relationships for character development and dynamic scenes
During the festive season, unresolved family disagreements flare up. Use the opportunity to play the role of keen observer of both the verbal and non-verbal aspects. Complicated relationships in families is great fodder for a story and dinner table conversation can yield interesting information.
 
A Twist On Morning Relaxation
If the opportunity arises, make mention of your desire to 'sleep in' so as not to be disturbed. Then put in an hour or two of solid work in the privacy of your room, before you appear at the morning table.

Hopefully, you'll find time to write over the holidays and if not, indulge in some reading.
And most of all, find peace and joy in the season.
And believe.
Believe 2019 will be great.
  "May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart." Eskimo Proverb

The IWSG Administrators would like to thank you for your support. We wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. We will see you again on January 2nd for IWSG post day when we announce the winners of the 2018 IWSG Anthology Contest.
 

Write Tomorrow

(Did you just make a similar expression?)

There are so many articles on so many sites telling you that you should write. You are told how to write, how to schedule, and how to one of a thousand other things, each with a thousand variations on every topic. The tried and true "write every day" sure pops up a lot because, let's face it, even 5 words adds up over time. 

Now what does it all have in common? You just gave that expression again, huh? Yeah, it is an easy answer. Writing!

Everyone wants you to write in one form or another. Challenges such as so many words per so many days demand it. Tips from best selling authors demand it. Writing prompts demand it. S...There is that facial expression again. Demand? Such a strong word. They don't. They wouldn't. Now you're getting it.

Nudge. Suggest. Recommend. Propose. Offer. (All I got at the moment. Feel free to go back to the above face.)

What do the above have in common besides a thesaurus? They don't have anything to do with demand. You and your face were right. No demand. Now think about that.

Have to write. HAVE to write. HAVE TO write. HAVE TO WRITE.

How many times have you progressed like the above? From nudge to demand? And who brought forth the demand? The man in the moon? Nope! The Easter Bunny. Wrong again. Santa Claus? Strike three. There is no joy in Mudville.

YOU! Now you got it. You brought forth the demand. You made it exist. Yes, there are deadlines to contend with in many cases, but you decide how much of your time they demand. And in a lot of cases, you made/make the deadlines. You demanded them on yourself.

Now you're in demand's grasp. Now you're stressed. Now you've missed out on moments with the kids, parents, spouse, friends, pets, events, or just taking care of your health. All of this because of the demand you've imposed on yourself.

What for? Are you planning on croaking tomorrow? Is the world going to end? Are aliens going to blow us up? 99.99% not going to be the case.

And this all means? (Pssst. Go back and read the title.)

That's right. Write tomorrow. Or even the next day. Heck, a week from today. 

The holidays are coming. Moments with those in real life are important. Sometimes more important for your writing than actually writing. If you try to go too many ways, everything will suffer, writing may become a chore, and you may come to dislike it. All thanks to the demands that you put upon yourself.

So the next time you sense demand creeping up on you, take a breather. There is no harm in writing tomorrow. Just don't use it as an excuse to never write again and procrastinate. The world isn't going to end if you don't write for a day. In fact, sometimes your day and your writing may benefit.

Pssst...if you like to play in traffic forget all you just read. You are the 00.01% and better get it down before your untimely demise.

Have you ever put unnecessary demands on yourself? Do you take a day when needed and enjoy life a bit? Do you fear the world is going to end? Should I ask if you play in traffic?

How to Maintain Your Writing Sanity During the Holidays

With the holidays coming up, many writers begin to stress. Here are a few tips for surviving without losing your sanity:

Pay attention to details and people. You’ll probably be around a lot of people and maybe in some new locations. Take advantage of it. Jot down notes about what you see and what people say.

Let family know you need a small block of time to write. If you let everyone know you need thirty minutes first thing in the morning or a little time before dinner, you’re more likely to get that slot of time to actually write. You can call it a little personal time or treat it as a business and say you have to do a little work.

Use down time and travel time well. Maybe you’re visiting the West Coast from the East Coast - and your body still wants to wake up early. Use that time to write. Or perhaps you are traveling in a car or by plane. Don some headphones and tune out the world around you to write.

Set a routine but be flexible. A designated time to write will prompt you to do so. But maybe one evening during your scheduled writing time, the family wants to go out and look at Christmas lights. It’s okay - write later or the next day.

Don’t expect too much of yourself. Yes, we just came off a productive NaNoWriMo month. But the holidays are about spending time with people and celebrations. Don’t expect a NaNo pace unless you’re having a really tiny Christmas and a lot of time off. Ease back and relax a little.

Know you don’t have to do it all. There will be parties and gatherings and family - you don’t have to attend everything. Also know there will be days that you might not get to write. Again, that’s okay. Maybe the holidays should be a break from writing.

The holidays should be joyous. Don’t let your family or a lack of writing keep you from enjoying it.

We'd like to welcome our newest member to the IWSG Admin Team - Tyrean Martinson.

Tyrean will be running our IWSG Instagram account.

The IWSG Admins would like to wish you happy holidays. We will see you again on January 3rd for IWSG post day when we announce the winners of the 2017 IWSG Anthology Contest.

In the meantime, we invite you to visit some of our most popular posts this week and thank you for helping us become a Writer’s Digest 101 Best Website for Writers.

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