It’s only 5 days until Christmas. I hope you’re giving yourself permission to NOT write. At least for one day or a few hours each day, take a holiday break. If you don’t, the season will pass without your feeling as though you were ever a part of it. The shopping you did in a rush and the token baking you did in a huff don’t count. If you haven’t done it yet, it’s time now for you to get out of writing mode—at least for a little while—and experience the season.
Here are some ideas to help you soak up some of that Christmas spirit you may have been avoiding.
• Walk through the mall and be a part of the hustle bustle.
• Attend a children’s Christmas presentation.
• Dress in your most Christmassy outfit.
• Go to church.
• Drive around various neighborhoods and enjoy the Christmas decorations.
• Take extra time wrapping some of your more special gifts—make the presentation as yummy as the gift itself.
• Donate food and gifts to a needy family or volunteer to serve the homeless.
• Do something completely off the wall such as leave jars and cans full of coins where unsuspecting people will find them. Or drop dollar bills tied with a bow outside of a busy post office and watch how people respond when they find them.
• Dress up as Santa, Mrs. Santa or an elf and visit a nursing home or day care facility.
• Throw a Christmas party complete with gifts and cookies for some of the less fortunate children in your neighborhood.
• Do some holiday baking and deliver a plate of home-baked goodies to some who would least expect this from you.
• Write a poem or take wintry photos for next year’s Christmas cards.
• Call a long-time friend or a relative whom you haven’t seen in a while.
Just imagine how refreshed and joyful you’ll feel when you return to your writing work. And some of these experiences might just fill you with new story ideas.
Happy holiday writing, everyone. You can make my Christmas and secure your professional future by purchasing my new book, “The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.†http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html