Holiday Writing
by Tina Morgan

Happy holidays and all the merriment that goes with this festive time of year!

The holiday season can bring our writing to a screeching halt as we deal with family and business obligations. For some, work becomes busier and more stressful, for others, coping with personal issues can bring depression and anxiety. Then there are those who revel in the excitement and bustle.  Often there just isn't enough time for all the things we want to do and this can include our writing.

While chaos may be reigning supreme in my household, I've been using the holidays as a bit of inspiration and thinking of how I could incorporate this madness into an article that would entice even my frazzled muse out of hiding. The answer came in the form of a writing exercise posted to a fantasy writers' group.

Write a description about how to include holidays, festivals and special events into your writing.

There are many ways this can be done and you don't have to write fantasy to use the holidays for inspiration.

There are many religious and secular holidays that take place during this time of year. Some you can observe personally, others may be new and unfamiliar to you. What is often the same from family to family regardless of faith (or lack of religious belief) is the social interaction demanded of us. Families and colleagues come together to celebrate and visit but these events can range from joyous to horrifying.

The crowded restaurant where the company has their annual Christmas party can become the perfect setting for the murder mystery you've been pondering as the killer decides she can't handle the sound of one more happy carol. The stress of finding the ideal gift for his new girlfriend can send your teenaged romantic lead into a tailspin when she takes the gift then dumps him. Or is this the perfect ending to that romance novel that's been waiting for the protagonist and her love interest to finally realize that they were made for each other?

We're inundated with commercials telling us we have to find the right gift for everyone. Diamonds and toys, cars and computers, but what about those that can't afford the expensive gifts? It's an unfortunate and sad part of our world that there are those who will go hungry not only now but throughout the year. For some writers, this can be used as fuel for those essays they've always wanted to write, or a chance to add social commentary to their novels without being so blatant about it that the reader puts the book down.

What we write might not change the world but it does have the potential to reach one person at a time - a feat that should never be discounted.

Holidays provide us with a wealth of opportunities to observe those we love and even those we hate. How a person responds to the season can give us insight into the characters we're trying to create. (And when great aunt Trudy takes her false teeth out at the dinner table and proceeds to lick them clean, we find a disgusting but interesting character trait that we can use to either repulse our readers or send them into fits of giggles.)

Taking time for ourselves is crucial to our well-being. Even if you think you can't spare the time, take a few minutes everyday to just breath deeply and look at the world around you. What you see may be the perfect answer to the plot problem that's brought your story to a standstill. If you don't have time to write the story now, jot a note and stick it where you'll be sure to find it once you've cleaned up all the tinsel, candles and eggnog.

Happy holiday writing!

© Copyright 2004 Tina Morgan.