It’s twenty-six hours away from the New Year, from 2026, and for once I seem to be prepared – through judgement and luck, to really get back into the saddle with my writing. Now it may seem that a truism, a corny idiom, a hoary old chestnut, are maybe not a promising start to a year of more and better writing, but I guess it’s something I might say trying to be comical. Maybe I’m trying to get corn and chestnuts out of my system before January 1st, or maybe I’m just being silly (which I am unfortunately rather good at).
I am very fortunate that kind friends have, without realising, helped me with this. I have been given a book written by the amazing Susie Dent, ‘Words for Life‘ subtitled ‘to boost every day of the year’. The blurb on the back says: ‘This is the perfect guide to ensure your best year yet – and 366 words you’ll want to keep for life.’ There is also a quote from the wonderful Sir Stephen Fry, ‘Glorious.., This wonderful book, a most eximious almanac of chewy, juicy, woody, tinny, frothy, brassy, bombastic, and bouncy words, welcomes us all to the greatest delight.’ Followed by another from Richard Coles, ‘not just any words, but words for life… if you find this book in your stocking this Christmas, be thankful!’ Each day from January 1st there is an unusual word discussed and illustrated, to be enjoyed, remembered and maybe used in conversation or writing.
I’m also now happily in possession of the Faber & Faber Poetry Diary 2026. On each double page there is a quote or a poem opposite the usual week of daily spaces to use to note appointments and special dates, but which could also be used as a space for a comment on that day. I could write a short note to record what I hope to do with my writing, or something unusual I overheard, or a scrap of verse I remember or have read or heard on the radio. I’m going to try and use it to be positive, encouraging, thoughtful, enquiring – something to think about when writing, or some note to self about a random inspiration. It will definitely not be anything negative or down-hearted, I’ve been too much like that in the year we are just about to leave. I always thought of myself as optimistic and positive, but that’s slipped a little this year, with no real reason.
I have also bought myself a weekly planner. Sophie Robinson is an interior designer whose stuff I came across in Dunelm (a home furnishing retailer, in case you don’t know) I absolutely love her things, the colours, the design, the variety and jolliness of her products and I have bought her weekly planner. Now, I have to say, I am the opposite of a planner – which has not always served me well, I’m spontaneous and spur of the moment, and “Oh, I’ve got a jolly good idea!!!” As I’ve become older, juggling all my spontaneity, random ideas, thoughts and actions – keeping all my mental balls in the air, has begun to be less easy – not only do I drop a few of these mental balls, but quite often they roll away and are only found much later after I wanted to deploy them. I’ve always had a very tenuous grasp of time passing and how long it takes to do something or get somewhere, and now I no longer have a day job there are no markers or signs as to what day it is, let alone what the time is. So, I hope Sophie will help me keep track of things better than my phone has been recently, as I will have to physically write in her diary, rather than dash something down on my phone calendar.
I have been so lucky this Christmas, lovely, interesting, useful, nice gifts have come my way including “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. I must have first read this classic novel when I was about eight, no doubt borrowed from the local library where the librarian, Mr Horsepoole, although seemingly a grumpy old man, was very kind to young readers who came in with their parents’ library cards. However, the beautiful edition I have been given has in fact not a single word in it – it is a writing journal – a book full of blank pages for me to write in, trying my best to be legible and serious, no doubt trying to emulate Miss Austen who wrote ‘a novel of manners…’ about a young woman ‘who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgements‘.
So, I hope 2026, which arrives the day after tomorrow, will see me continuing to write as ever, but without losing all my spontaneity, in some places with more thought, care and intent.
My featured image is of Bath, beloved by Jane Austen
Lois Elsden 