I thought I’d share some writing prompts to celebrate today’s Winter Solstice. Today is the shortest day and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere, the middle of winter here – and the longest day and the height of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. As I said in my post on the Summer Solstice, the solstice isn’t really a ‘one day only’ thing – that’s a modern invention. The feel of midwinter hangs around for a while, so it doesn’t matter if you actually do these exercises today.
Want to try some Winter Solstice Writing? Read on! By the way, read my post on Live Writing first if you haven’t written ‘on location’ before.
Winter Solstice Writing Prompts
Here are some prompts to use:
- Go outside to write at dawn or dusk.
- Go on a mindful walk and notice how nature has retreated.
- Wrap up warm and sit somewhere in nature to write – somewhere you find relaxing.
- Observe the world through a door or window at different times during the day and write about what you see – use all of the senses you have available to you.
- If you like, do the same at various points during the evening. If you’re really keen, do the same at 10pm and at midnight.
- Write about a character who changes somehow on the winter solstice.
- Write a story set on the winter solstice and only refer to what happens on that day. No going forward or backwards in time.
- If you’re lucky enough to live near the seaside, take someone with you and go for a walk on the beach or sit and watch the sunset over the sea and write ‘live’.
- Write a poem called ‘The Shortest Day’ or ‘The Longest Night.’
- Make lists of words based on your senses in a notebook. Use these words when you want to write about the winter at another time of the year. You can add other sensory lists to your notebook during the other seasons, and you’ll end up with a resource you can keep coming back to.
More soon. Until then, happy writing,
Lou xx
P.S. If you’d like more exercises like these, take a look at the Small Steps Writing Guides.