I met with Jo Bell this week (canal dweller, poet, memoirist, pioneer of online writing communities, spreader of joy, hope and tiny ducklings in Santa hats). Frankly, there aren’t many better ways to light a dreary day. We were supposed to be planning our joint course in writing memoir (coming in 2026) but instead talked about how we’re trying to reclaim our attention. It turns out that we’re both writing letters, collaging, and making things with edges that we can hold in our hands. If, like us, you’re fed up of feeling chronically distracted and scattered, and yearn for those days when reading a whole book wasn’t something to train for, marathon-style, watch this space. We’re planning something, and I’m very excited.

I gave a talk at the BMI recently - ‘Tove Jansson’s Great Cold and the warmth of midwinter children’s literature’ - and gathered a few resources that might help if you find this season hard, whether through lack of light, grief or loss, too much/not enough money, time, connection, or joy.

‘Light is a right: a guide to wintering well’ is a beautiful (free) online booklet that emerged from the Uni of Glasgow project, Living with SAD.(See the accompanying BBC Sounds series, Winter Well.) I particularly like the idea of framing a patch of sky (with your fingers or a cardboard frame made from a cereal packet) and studying the changing colours within it.

The Dark is Rising

Philosopher-poet John O’Donohue often used candlelight as a metaphor for a gentler, more forgiving way of seeing ourselves and others, framing the ‘glare of neon’ as destructive and hostile: ‘if you keep shining the neon light of analysis and accountability on the tender tissue of your belonging, you make it parched and barren.’ He also wrote,

Light cannot see inside things.
That is what the dark is for.

Every year, my friend Becky reads Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising in step with the dates in the story. It opens on 20 December with a heavy snowfall that heralds the coming of the Dark, and unfolds over the Christmas period as Will steps into his role as defender of the Light. When Will first feels the presence of the Dark, it’s ‘as if some huge weight were pushing at his mind, threatening, trying to take him over, turn him into something he didn’t want to be.’ This is not (I think) O’Donohue’s dark, but Dark with a capital D, an ancient, epic, active malevolence that can’t be vanquished with the flick of a switch. Cooper’s deep Dark doesn’t feel as prosaic or pernicious as the shapeshifting, corrosive forces that can wear us down, day to day. But the act of reading can (sometimes) generate enough warmth and light to keep our own personal Dark at bay. Although I prefer the book (and still have my old copy with the deeply unsettling cover), there’s a good adaptation on BBC Sounds.

I had hoped to share the link for my favourite unsettling Christmas telly, The Box of Delights, but perplexingly, the BBC have taken it off iPlayer. I am, however, looking forward to watching Mark Gatiss’s adaptation of The Room in the Tower. If you’re looking for diversion that isn’t scroll-based (that is, it has a beginning and an end), I also recommend writer Tom Cox’s excellent and often very funny newsletter.

A seasonal writing forage: an exercise

Set a timer for 5 minutes. Write the letters of the alphabet down your page and then add in words that you associate with the season. As with most writing endeavours, I find concrete objects rather than emotions or ideas more generative. You don’t have to move through the alphabet consecutively, and the words don’t have to make sense to anyone else. Pick a word and set your timer for a further 10 minutes. Write down everything you associate with that object or memory as notes or full sentences. See where it takes you in the time.

Writing Workshop - early bird discount ends Friday 20 December!

There are just a few spaces left on next term’s Writing Workshop, and the early bird discount ends on Friday 20 December. You can reserve a place with a £50 deposit, or pay in full now - details here. (Email me - bwriting@icloud.com - to book a place.)

I’m now also taking bookings for two different courses, both at the Birmingham and Midland Institute. If you’d like to book onto either of these courses but don’t have the funds yet, you can reserve a place with a £50 deposit.

Grow your own writing: reconnecting with your creativity (4 sessions) £199

Feeling depleted, distracted or uninspired? This course is for anyone who longs to write - or get back to writing - but can’t find a way in. Come for low-effort creative nourishment; leave with more energy, capacity and focus.

/6.30-8.30pm on the following Wednesdays: 4, 11, 25 Feb, 4 March 2026.

Grow your own writing: developing and sustaining your writing life (4 sessions) £199

How do we befriend our inner critic? Experiment with different ways of generating new writing with low pressure and no blank page. Explore writing as ‘serious play’ with structured exercises in a friendly and supportive environment.

6.30-8.30pm on the following Wednesdays: 18 March, 25 March, 15 April, 22 April 2026.

More soon, but in the meantime, please get in touch with any questions, comments, suggestions!

Warm wishes,

Anna