Making the Most of the Holidays
/Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the holiday season is officially upon us! Here in the Pacific Northwest, candles are already warming windows and lights illuminating houses, staving off the gloom of the oncoming winter. But as magical as this time of year is, it also brings disruptions in our routines that make it hard to keep up our writing practice. So, as December kicks off, we encourage you to revisit your writing goals and plan how you will meet them.
Photo credit: https://coffeegeek.tv/
First, define what success will look like for you this holiday season. Will you finish a draft of your novel? Hit a daily word count? Meet a deadline? If you have never set a writing goal, this is the perfect time to start! When life gets busy and motivation flags, a clearly stated goal provides direction and reminds us of our purpose.
Once you’ve established your goal, get real about your schedule this month: Are the kids on break from school? Do you have odd work hours? Are there presents to wrap and cookies to bake? Do you have extra social commitments? Can you stick to your usual writing schedule, or do you need to tweak things for this season?
Take your limitations seriously and build your writing time into your schedule in a way that is sustainable. Then, guard that time fiercely. Be ready to say no to invitations and obligations that hinder your writing. What gets scheduled is what gets done, and this is truer than ever during the holidays!
A few tips on maintaining a holiday writing schedule:
Build in some extra cushion. It’s likely that despite your best intentions, something will come along to derail your writing practice. Take these interruptions in stride by scheduling slightly more time than you think you need.
Tell a friend. Communicate your writing goals to a writing group, partner, or friend who will keep you accountable and root for your writing dreams.
Include others. If the holidays mean more family time for you, get the gang involved!
Have a family writing or reading hour where everyone can work on their own literary passions. That could mean creating Mad Libs and one-act plays rife with humor, or it could mean everyone curled up in a different corner of the room, reading a good book.
Whatever works for your family, bonding over a growing love of words can do wonders for your motivation!
With intentionality and grit, writing during the holidays can be the most wonderful time of the year. Here’s to all the stories you’ve yet to write!
Merry Christmas from the Inspira Team!