There’s this plot I’ve been mulling over for almost half the year. Thank God the holidays are round the corner. I’ll put it down in writing.
There’s this draft that needs a complete re-do.
When?
The holidays, of course.There’s a whole bunch of scraps of ideas scattered all over my drafts section. Have to sort through them. Will get to them when I can stay home-bound all day long with a cup of hot cocoa.
In the holidays.
With the idea of the holidays comes the idea of infinite time, of infinite leisure, of an infinite ability to address those backlogs that are outside our daily sphere of activities on regular days. We hope we can get to them all at once when infinite time is just round the corner along with friends, festivities and food.
Really?
Bad idea.
Why? Because it’s the devil’s own way to a sure purgatory of guilt and dissatisfaction by the time January rolls around.
Should we have no writing plan at all for the holidays then?
Not really. I think we can have a plan.
Except that the plan needs to be a little subtle. As befits a writer. The following is based on experience (real or imagined ♥)
The Do’s
Plan to boost your creativity in the holidays through thinking that goes on in the back of your mind with cake, cookies and friends. You don’t necessarily have to put your thoughts down somewhere or even be goal-oriented about your ideas. Yet, a different set of activities might trigger fresh, new ideas.
Plan to rest. Just detaching yourself from the work of writing might make you rediscover the pleasure. What if this makes you arrive at the epiphany you’ve been working hard to find through drudge work?
Observe the world. So much of writing is about people, relationships, events, nature and travel. Go out there and interact with the world. You will automatically find things to write about later.
The Don’t’s
Don’t do the drudge work during the holidays such as sorting, editing, moving paragraphs around unless you absolutely have to. You’ll sacrifice the holiday spirit, feel like you’re working harder than usual, get no rest at all and yet yield no more results than you will on usual days.
Don’t plan for next year, at least not until the holidays are just over. Making big plans in a holiday mood often turn out overambitious or stressful.
Don’t network for the sake of networking. An impersonal e card or a mass email ends up saying “Look, I exist but you’re not important enough to be addressed by name.” Most people don’t need that. It certainly does not help a friendship.
Writing is about life. So live a little during the holidays.
What do you think?
bottledworder 
Comments welcome