January 1st is no different to any other day
Perhaps we should stop pretending it is.
It’s that time of year. The time of year where we start to get inundated with insights into what we should do before (or as) the clocks tick over to January: how we should put this year to bed and get ready for next; draw up lists of what we did / didn’t do in 2024 & what we will / won’t do in 2025. We’ll be encouraged to make resolutions, take a look at our (writing) lives, make a 2025 plan to be the person (writer) we want to be…
Which is all nonsense, isn’t it? The changing of the calendar year is such a false construct — and of course one not worshiped by a huge swathe of the global population. When it comes down to it, January 1st is just another day, fundamentally no different from January 2nd or May 24th.
What it is, of course, is convenient. It’s a point of transition, a ticking over from one thing — a year — to the next. As such, and as a way-point in time, we love to use it an an excuse for a little navel-gazing (or nasal- or naval-gazing, depending on which auto-correct software you use!)
Personally, I have no problem with such activity per se. I do it myself — often. Indeed, for writers such introspective activity can be vital. My complaint is a) about slavery to the 1st January, and b) that we run the risk of abdicating our responsibility for analysis to that single date — and subsequently undertake the task just once a year.
That’s the nonsense.
As writers we should be examining ourselves and our work all the time; we should be constantly engaged in making sure we’re getting the most from our talent — in terms of what we’re writing, and why & how we’re writing it. Understanding the why, how and what in relation to our passion / art / hobby / addiction should be a constant background process — a bit like the way your computer continually checks for emails, some of which might just be really important... Can you imagine only checking your email once a year?! (Okay, I know that would be blissful on so many levels..!)
So if you fall foul of the January 1st thing in 2 or 3 weeks’ time, then do yourself a favour: promise to thereafter undertake a light-touch review of your relationship to your work maybe every month or two. Even pick some dates to do so if that helps — though your gut will surely tell you when you need to take a step back.
Think of it as if you were an artist painting a picture en plein air or a portrait from life: every now and then you need to step away from the canvas and see what the painting is like — because it may not look as you imagine it does…
how can you ever fulfil the potential you may have if you do not understand yourself and your relationship to your work? - from So, you think you’re a Writer
Well said.