5 tips to keep writing during the holidays

Psst, I see you’re checking your lists. No, I don’t mean the naughty and nice list. Hey, I know you’re on the nice list! I mean the long lists of activities you intend to complete this season, though they may look different this year. With all that floods into the schedule this time of the year, your writing tends to slip into the background. But hey, as you bake and trim and snap that family picture for your greeting card, I bet you could squeeze these writing tips in.

Grab your eggnog or hot cocoa with the candy cane melting beneath the sweet whipping cream. Settle near the Christmas tree and inhale its piney fragrance. Gaze into the multi-colored lights and shiny, reflecting balls. Turn on your favorite Christmas tunes.

All settled? Great! Give yourself permission to rest from your novel. After NaNoWriMo, it’s time to set that project aside to percolate in your subconscious. Besides, it’s Christmas—time to reflect on the Savior’s birth and spend extra time with loved ones.

5 Tips

Here are five tips to keep writing during this festive time.

1. Share the stories of this past year—both your blessings and your griefs—in a newsletter, pointing to Jesus. Don’t forget to include some fun photographs! (When I was a kid, I did this, and my grandparents saved them.)
2. Brainstorm ideas with your family and friends to see what crazy plots or characters everyone thinks up. Jot down some of the best possibilities. When we’re relaxed, our creativity expounds.
3. Blog (or microblog on social media) about what Christmas means to you, and share stories of past Christmases with your readers. Again, include lots of pictures.
4. Write drafts of some seasonal stories to polish and send later for next season. Be sure to check your market guide for how many months ahead the magazine wants these. Have fun!
5. Compile some of your favorite tales to bind and give as gifts. If you’re artistic, you may even include illustrations.

Don’t forget to read

These are simple ideas to keep your writing muscles flexing during an extra busy time of the year. I hope you have fun with them. I also hope you’ll take time to read and perhaps tuck in a few Christmas novels for good measure. Laurie Germaine’s Tinsel in a Tangle sounds like a good one to start with. 😊

We can still be exercising our writing muscles as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. After all, God planted these writing gifts in our hearts. They stick with us in every season.

Merry Christmas! Happy writing during the holidays.

What other ways do you keep writing during December?

Photo credit of gift: Kari Shea, Unsplash. Photo credit of Christmas tree: Michelle Kaderly Welsh.