Christmas Wrapping

How's everyone feeling on the Bah Humbug > White Christmas scale? It was snowing here yesterday as we decorated the tree and hung the stockings, and two small people are beside themselves with excitement. For the grown ups, this Christmas is more difficult. The final kick in the pants from 2009 is the airline is laying off pilots. Lots of pilots. We've been in limbo for a couple of months now, and were expecting the news. I can't predict what will be happening in a few weeks let alone this time next year ... more news as it breaks.

This year you can forget diamonds and sables under the tree (Santa Baby), I'm simply praying for a Christmas miracle. In the meantime it's all about trying to make this a great, and happy, Christmas for the children. This has been a strange old year. I'm hoping this run of bad luck has all come at the same time, it's out of the way, and from 2010 things are going to get a whole lot better. Actually scratch 'hoping' - I'm going to make sure 2010 is the start of big changes, big improvement. I don't think I've spoken to a single person recently who's in a better position than they were a year ago, have you? Enough already. Let's make the next year, next decade a great one.

'Keep calm and carry on' has become my mantra this year. Keep going, keep writing, keep getting better at it. As well as learning on the MA course, I'm also teaching writing now (for Writer's News in the UK, and Winchester University) - one of you suggested I should (Tessa?), so thank you, I'm glad I took your advice. Sometimes you learn just as much from guiding others as you do from being taught yourself. Studying writing in an academic context has proven to be challenging and inspiring. One of the most interesting weekly exercises is writing a pastiche of the book we've studied - I really recommend it. Take a writer you admire, and write a short interpretation of their work. I just 'did' Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road' (bleak, post-apocalyptic, the last book in the world I thought I'd love). My tutor said: 'this is impressive, Kate. Now you must write the rest of the novel which goes around this passage'. Yes. That should keep me quiet over the holidays.

I won't have a chance to post again before the break, so wish you all a very Happy Christmas - and here's to a spectacular new decade. Thank you all for your continued support of WKDN - your comments make this blog what it is x

TODAY'S PROMPT: Santa has come early. Perhaps like us you've mailed off the kids' Christmas lists, but what about you? Maybe it's not material things you want to ask St Nick for, but why not write yourself a Christmas list of all the things you'd like to achieve, do or see this year? In five years? In ten years? The Magical Wish Granting Comments Box is listening :)

It's also time for the 2010 WKDN Calendar. Last year we had the ladies' requests - a year worth of inspirational writing quotes with lovely Ewan McGregor in his kilt for Mr December, Rufus Sewell, Gregory Peck, Viggo Mortenson ... so what do you fancy this year? I'm thinking of something along the lines of 'if life gives you lemons ...' but you may prefer writing quotes again? And what about the pictures? Boys? Girls? Great Lovers? Get your requests in now and the new calendar will be ready to email to you for the New Year x