The powder snow billowed beneath them as they raced across the blinding white fields and forests, where sunlight shimmered on the pure coat of winter.”
– Blade of Wolves
Every season feels different when you’re writing – it has its own mood, palette, and aspects unique to itself.
From the hopeful days of spring to the lavish colours of autumn, every season brings something new to the table and feeds your creativity with a unique set of offerings.
Winter – the crystallisation of ideas like frost flowers on the windowpane. The slow incubation of ideas deep under layers of protective snow. The mind drifting to unknown worlds, prompted by the sight of frosted pine-trees at dusk or the infinity of a frozen sea bleeding into the horizon.
Winter is a time for the mind and body to rest, to weave threads of story together like the roots of trees, still alive, still communicating even when all is quiet on the surface.
Winter is a season of consolidation, deep rest, and gentle creativity; allowing oneself to mull over plot lines and character developments, slowly piecing together the material for future growth.
Winter sets the stage for the coming spring, and to do so it must be calm, thoughtful and deliberate.
The glory of the Transylvanian mountains in midwinter
While the external world may be besieged by snowstorms and infernally cold temperatures, the writing soul withdraws into introspection and reflection of itself and the stories it tells. It’s a time to realign and return to the basics, asking ourselves the fundamental questions.
Why do I write? Is my current activity setting up my future dreams, or do I need to change something?
What do I really want to be writing, and do I have a plan to get there?
What do I really need – a break that I haven’t allowed myself? Or more time spent focused on what really matters?
The blue hours draw us into the reflection that prepares the creative ground for a new spring. It’s okay if we feel stuck on a project right now, or we’ve simply run out of energy. It can be the soul’s way of telling you that instead of forcing your daily 250 words on a page, you simply need to sit with it and let the story mature in the darkness before its ready to come out.
This doesn’t mean winter can’t be a time of profuse creativity and production – of course not. For some the long, dark, quiet days are prime time for endless writing marathons, and the silence of the snow is what allows the colours of our inner stories to shine all the more brightly.
Like any season, the value of winter is found in what you choose to do with it. Do you go into full intensity mode to pass the dark days, or do you follow the flow of the season and pass it in creative hibernation? Comment your favorite writerly winter habits below!
~ Where wolves run and ravens fly ~
x The Foxglove Scribe
The water ran slow and quiet, reflecting the dusky sky and the Evenstar cresting the horizon. He settled himself on thick roots jutting from the river bank, snaking down to the white shores by the ice, and welcomed the frost that crept along his skin. The stillness of the world became unbreakable, a silence frozen in time and space.
Explorer of worlds and writer of fantastical tales, author of the "Bladewings" - trilogy ✨ I make my own way in the world of ink and imagination, and like to dance on the edge of chaos and order.
Go learn the rules and then come break them with me 🖤☕♠️
View all posts by Jolinda Mäkinen
The Foxglove Scribe 