Winter Writing

For me, winter is a wonderful time to write. There are fewer distractions, you’re stuck inside a lot, and the kids go to bed earlier, which leaves you with more free time in the evening. (Unfortunately, dark nights and a colder house make me want to go to bed earlier too, so that last benefit is usually a wash.) But in my case, when you are writing a book about magic and mysteries and castles full of dark secrets, doing it when the evenings are dark adds to the overall ambience, especially when I turn the lights down in my office.

Despite the usual holiday distractions, I am finding this holiday season to be particularly inspirational for working on my book. Following the format developed by JKK Rowling, my story takes place over the course of a school year and right now I’m up to December. And to me, it feels much better to be writing about events in December when it really is December. (Sign of a novice?) I had promised myself that I would finish the December chapters before the end of the year, but I’m no longer very hopeful of fulfilling that promise. Too many distractions! That doesn’t mean I’m giving up all hope, however. I only have three more days left at my day job this year, which means I’ll have a lot of late night writing time available to me in the next week and a half. Will I take advantage of this time or will I go to bed early and grouse about the lack of writing time the next morning?

I’ll let you know what happens.