The Winter Solstice: tomorrow the days start getting longer! Which just goes to show the ever presence of paradox in the cycles of our lives. But for now it’s 4.30pm and dark outside. A robin is singing: one of my favourite sounds.

Rather than post a writing experiment this quarter, I’ve added a page to the resources on my site for Field Work, which is a practice I frequently suggest in tailored forms for writers that I’m mentoring.

Do take a look, especially if you’re wanting to freshen up a draft or are getting stuck – it’s a great way of deepening your understanding of the world of your writing and how you might serve it. Suspend any grasping towards word counts or other outcomes; simply give yourself the gift of time hanging out with your characters in writing, and after a few weeks see what the practice brings.

Best of all it’s straightforward. Too much in writing is overcomplicated. ‘Just sitting – what a relief in this busy world’: a helpful description of meditation from Natalie Goldberg. So: just write – bring some of that ease of letting things be to your writing too. See what comes up.

I’m just over a pretty exhausting cold. It was worse than covid! Guess these things test our immune systems. Stay warm, wear a mask, eat fruit cake – this year’s have been particularly fine.