Simon Rose's Blog, page 53

Writing in the Holiday Season: Part Five – Sources of Inspiration

Even at Christmas, activities unrelated to writing can often unlock your inspiration. These include wrapping gifts, stringing lights, decorating the tree and house, or even more everyday tasks such as doing laundry, walking the dog, tidying the house, or washing the dishes after a family meal. It’s surprising how even the most mundane situations can launch you on the road to your next story. Ideas might also be generated from your own influences, either from childhood or later in life. Something you see in the run up to Christmas might remind you of incidents from previous festive seasons that can serve as inspiration.

If you drive to work, you probably don’t normally notice the same familiar sights that you pass each day, such as company names and logos, advertising billboards, road signs and so on. And yet these can also provide a starting point for your writing. Take a selection of the things that you see one morning, completely at random, then write them down once you get to work. From there your task is to create a short story, even if it’s only one page, including all of those items. You could also perhaps choose ten festive words that you encounter on the way to work and write a short piece using all of them at least once. And if your day wasn’t that interesting, turn that into a writing challenge too. Recall the most mind-numbing or irritating aspect of your day and write a short poem about it. It might not win any awards for content or style, but creating that poem about such a bland topic might be just what you need to get moving with your writing.

In the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season an idea might come to you out of the blue. This could be an overheard conversation or a song on the radio, for example. No matter what the idea is, make a note of it, however insignificant it may seem at the time. It might be a character name that you like the sound of, even if you don’t have a story to put it in yet. It could a title for a novel. Keep notepads handy, or even use a voice recorder if you have ideas while you’re driving. You might have many ideas that may never become complete stories. However, you should always keep a record of them since you never know when you might get another piece of the puzzle.

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Writing in the Holiday Season: Part Four – Seasonal Stories

In the holiday season, an interesting exercise designed to get a story moving is to randomly use a collection of presents or Christmas decorations drawn from a bag. You then create a story in which these objects must all be used as a significant part of the narrative. You then draw out four or five at random and use them to create your story.

This type of exercise always sparks the imagination and you’d be surprised at what you might come up with when confronted with a group of seemingly unconnected objects. You can establish a time limit to force yourself to devise the beginning, middle and end of the story. You could even use this as a game to keep children entertained. The final result may not be bestseller material, but the process will certainly stimulate your imagination and might be just enough to get your creativity moving. 

If you don’t feel as if you can create your own story from scratch, why not use someone else’s? Rewrite the ending to a Christmas story that you’re very familiar with or use different characters. This could be a fairy tale, a real incident from history, myths or legends, a movie or TV series, whatever you like really. You could take a Christmas carol or seasonal song and create new lyrics all about your own Christmas experience. 

Whatever path you decide to follow, the process could lead you in all sorts of interesting directions. A radically different take on familiar characters and situations, while they may not be marketable in themselves, will help to get your creative juices flowing and perhaps serve as inspiration for your own work. 

 

 

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Writing in the Holiday Season: Part Three – Creative Opportunities

Despite the mayhem of the Christmas season, the final weeks of the year still present considerable opportunities for writers. You might even find the missing piece of the puzzle that allows you to create your masterpiece or at least get some really great ideas.

Consider an overheard conversation and where it might lead. How about “there’s no way I’m inviting him to our house for Christmas ever again”, or “after that incident last New Year’s Eve, her family will never be the same.” Any of these could be overheard in the aisle of the toy store, in the food court at the mall, at a store checkout or at the airport as you wait to board your flight to visit relatives. Or maybe you receive an unexpected Christmas card and immediately recognize the name above the return address as belonging to someone you thought you’d never hear from again. You could even find a mysterious note in a gift sent to you by mistake, complete with tantalizingly vague details about someone who appears to be in serious danger. All of these are great story starters, but can also help you develop your own idea or take a story on a completely different path altogether.

Consider airports while you’re waiting for an hour or more for your flight to depart. You’re surrounded by many different kinds of people as they eat snacks, drink coffee, read books, newspapers or magazines, listen to music or perhaps chat to the person beside them. The same applies to the crowds in the malls during the busy shopping season or if you undertake a regular journey to work on a bus or a train each morning with hundreds of other people.

You don’t know these individuals at all, but to the writer these situations provide a wealth of material. You can speculate about the lives, jobs, families even the hopes and dreams of your fellow travelers and shoppers. You could even imagine a ‘what if everything went wrong’ story and concoct a tale from a hypothetical catalogue of disasters. In these ordinary everyday situations, the possibilities for extraordinary inspiration are almost endless.

 

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Writing in the Holiday Season: Part Two – Finding Time

For many of us, December is a very busy period that requires good time management. For example, if you normally try to write a certain number of pages or words each day at other times of the year, the occasional day might have to be cancelled due to family duties. However, in December it can seem as if you lose entire weeks of your creative time. There’s shopping, cooking, planning, and the kids are off school. You may have to attend your workplace’s office party or that of your partner. The holiday season is always a very hectic period.

So with all these distractions, how do you find time to write? Well, there are a number of strategies you could try. If you have a book deadline or even just want to set time aside to create, examine some of the traditional things you do each Christmas. Be ruthless when you determine which of these activities can be sacrificed and perhaps undertaken only every other year. Maybe it’s caroling in the neighbourhood, visiting a distant relative or rarely seen friend, but if it’s not happening, you have more writing time. Be selective about the functions you attend too, without being rude or giving the wrong impression. Let’s be honest, there are some years when many of us would rather not attend the office party if we can help it.

You can also delegate holiday duties to others. Have the kids decorate the tree if they’re old enough or recruit other adults to do the decorations. Delegate cooking and baking duties as well. You can even go out for dinner at Christmas, as long as you don’t feel like you’re betraying the family tradition. However, it’s important to keep in mind that such an outing isn’t an annual event, just something to free up some of your time for writing.

Buy Christmas gifts early if possible. If you have the same people to buy for each year, you might save some time by buying things in September or October, for example. You can also buy gift certificates or do some of your shopping online. It all saves time and gives you more chance to write.

You can also try to schedule work earlier in the year. Take a look at your upcoming commitments in the latter part of the year and do a rough estimate of the time these will require. Unless you have newlyweds, a new set of in-laws, have newborn babies in the family or have long lost relatives visiting from overseas, you have a good idea of how the holiday season will unfold. Bank those crucial writing hours earlier in the fall. Work an extra hour or do more writing in September and October and your creative muse will thank you later.

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Writing in the Holiday Season: Part One – Generating Ideas

During the holiday season, some people have a week, or even two, off work. While the Christmas and New Year period is invariably a very busy time, filled with family, friends, visiting, food and drink or even long distance travel in some cases, that doesn’t mean you can’t be working at your chosen craft during the festive season. Actual writing may not always be possible, especially if you have kids at home for a couple of weeks. Opportunities might also be in short supply if you have a seemingly endless amount of family gatherings or you may even be one of those people who really love to shop. And yet even if you can’t work on your novel, the end of a calendar year can still provide endless sources of inspiration.

Ideas for characters, for example, are most often derived from people around us such as family, friends, work colleagues and so on. While you may not wish to use those individuals directly in a story, they may still inspire you to create a unique character.  You might decide to combine some people together, using different elements of the personalities, quirks, mannerisms or expressions of distant relatives you only see in December or at weddings, parties and other events.

You might also get ideas from people you see while out shopping for Christmas. And of course, there are family activities, community events, hilarious antics from pets or memorable incidents with children, any of which may give you ideas for stories that don’t need to have a seasonal theme.

Your holiday season might not feature the catalogue of disasters depicted in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but may still provide you with a wealth of material. The festive season is primarily for family, but just in case, always have a notepad nearby. You never know when inspiration will strike.

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Triwood Christmas Market

Looking for the perfect gift? This Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm I’ll be signing copies of all my books at the Triwood Christmas Market. The event is being held at Triwood Community Association, 2244 Chicoutimi Drive NW in Calgary.


 


Hope to see you there.

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“This is a great book for kids who like both fantasy and history.”

The Sorcerer’s Letterbox

In a hidden drawer in the base of an old wooden box, Jack discovers a letter from a boy calling himself Edward. Penning a reply, Jack is astonished to be corresponding through time with the boy king Edward V, one of the famous Princes in the Tower, murdered by King Richard III. Travelling back in time, Jack attempts to rescue Edward V and his brother from their fate, but is soon fighting for his life in the terrifying London of 1483.

The Sorcerer’s Letterbox received great reviews when it was first published and remains a favourite with young readers today.

“This is a great book for kids who like both fantasy and history.”

“An entertaining read, with a great feel-good twist at the end.”

“A delightful book, and one that has a rightful place in every library in the country.”

“Simon Rose has managed to deliver another satisfying read with The Sorcerer’s Letterbox.”

“A well-written, suspenseful time travel story sure to keep readers engaged till its very clever ending.”

“The Sorcerer’s Letterbox convinces readers they’ve actually lived and breathed in a historical time and place.”

Read more reviews of The Sorcerer’s Letterbox here on my website.

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Seeing the Light: Writers and Seasonal Affective Disorder – Part Six

Regular physical exercise can help with stress relief and prevent the onset of SAD. Feeling more fit makes you feel better about yourself overall and generally improves your mood.

Giving in to those winter blues can also be stressful and lead to overeating, overindulgence in alcohol or other unhealthy pursuits, so you need to take care of your body, watch your diet and get enough sleep. Make time to relax and get away from your writing once in a while, especially if you work at home. 

And even if you do suffer from cabin fever, make sure you invite people into that cabin for a tea or coffee on occasion during the winter or at least go to visit their cabin instead. Writing is a solitary and often lonely profession and staying connected with your friends and acquaintances, and not just online, is vital if you are to get through the winter.

SAD may be a fact of life for many people out there, but it doesn’t have to be a sad part of your life during the darker winter months, so keep writing and get that book finished. After all, there may be someone in a sunnier place beating you to it.

For help with your writing at any time of year, check out my coaching and editing programs.

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Calgary Expo Holiday Market – November 30

Calgary Expo Holiday Market – November 30


 


Today I’ll be at the Calgary Expo Holiday Market at Stampede Park from 10 am to 5 pm, signing copies of all my books. You can find me in booth A932 in Hall B of the BMO Centre.

 
This one-day event is all about shopping and community spirit – this is THE market for pop-culture-loving holiday shoppers! Deck the Halls with Boughs of Starships and enjoy Walking in a Nerdy Wonderland. Check out at the geekiest holiday event in the province. Hope to see you there.

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Seeing the Light: Writers and Seasonal Affective Disorder – Part Five

Many people are adversely affected each year by the winter blues and writers are no exception. There are many ways to combat SAD, including antidepressants and other medications, but bright artificial light treatments are common as a means to give the body more exposure to the light that is lacking once winter approaches. 

For SAD sufferers, shorter days and long nights can initiate depression, excessive fatigue and other issues. Not simply the ‘winter blues’, Seasonal Affective Disorder is recognized as a form of depression, which can have serious consequences. 

However, you don’t have to mourn the passing of summer by looking ahead with a sense of impending doom and there are many ways to cope with feelings of lethargy and mood shifts in fall and winter. Make your home or writing workplace brighter by opening blinds, perhaps even adding extra windows and trim tree branches or bushes close to the house that block sunlight. If a trip to warmer latitudes isn’t in your budget, get outside as much as you can, taking advantage of sunshine even on cold winter days. Take more long walks and if its not too cold, simply sit peacefully on a bench in a park and soak up the sun. 

For help with your writing at any time of year, check out my coaching and editing programs.

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