In recent and forthcoming weeks we celebrate Diwali, Bonfire Night, Halloween, All Hallows aka the Day of the Dead, the changing of the clocks, the onset of winter. A time to remember that life is made of cycles, and that winter is a time of rest for the earth. A time to hunker down with good books and writing projects. A time for the indoors, for making fires.

I remember visiting Sweden one January, and being charmed by the presence of candlelight everywhere. Candles flickering in little glass snowballs on cafe tables, darting in a deep red bowl on the high windowsill of some apartment. A hotel in Stockholm is even designed with mood lighting in mind, and the bedside lamps are programmed to light up the rooms in soft shades – blue or orange or indigo, or cycling through the rainbow if you desire. It struck me that the Scandinavians really make an effort to bring light into their lives at this time when daylight is at a minimum.

Light. Life. Love. Clarity.

For this week’s writing experiment, consider how you can bring light into a piece of writing. You can do this literally, e.g., devoting an ode to a candle or writing a story that involves lamplight. Or you can consider things figuratively, and work out how some concept of light might bring a piece of writing to life, or maybe help you revise a piece that needs some assistance.

You might also want to consider an earlier writing experiment that tasks you on writing by candlelight.