Creative Ways to Ring in the New Year: some annual rituals that I want to share with you

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I have a fun tradition that I do the last week of December or the first week of January that I find to be insightful and inspiring. I tend to focus my questions on The Writing Life, but you can focus on whatever area of life you want (family, retirement, career, wellness, etc.).

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1. First, I close out the previous year - with a generous eye! - and note some achievements, like: I ran a successful women's writing retreat. I started sending out new poems for publication (and rejection!) again. I applied for a few grants, and won one. What were your accomplishments in 2024?

2. I also note some challenges with the previous year, too. I get complete with the fact of what happened, and either let it go (it is OK to quit stuff!), or I make a plan so it works better next year. Like, I haven't written as much as I would have liked, and I'm committed to put in a few structures to remedy that in the coming year. Where have you not made as much headway as you would have liked last year?

3. Next, I turn to the new year. I often do a tarot reading, and I also like to journal for a bit. You can ask yourself: What 2-3 things do I want to focus on in the coming year? Try to make them concrete and achievable but also inspiring to you. For me, I want to create and offer a new class, and I want to conduct a research trip to New England for my current writing project (hopefully winnning a grant to pay for it!). What's something you want to do in 2025?

4. To call in the New Year, I also create a collage. I love collaging because you don't have to be a good at drawing or sketching to do it. I just use images from whatever magazines I have in the house, and glue them onto a regular piece of copy paper. Collaging is a fun way to create a visual reminder for myself, and I put the collage above my writing desk so I can see it often. If you were to make a collage for your writing life in the coming year, what images/words might you include?

5. Next, I like to "interview" the collage. I write my answers on the back of the collage, so it's handy. Here are some questions to consider: 

• What qualities do I want to create in the new year? 
• What are 1 or 2 habits, that I want to focus on? 
• Who do I want to be for myself, or my writing project, in the coming year?
• Is there one word - like Generosity, or Power, or Balance - that I want to be my mantra for the new year?
• Is there something surprising about the collage? What might that have to do with the new year, or my writing project?
• What does the next year want to offer me? What does it hope I learn?

As the year proceeds, I re-visit the collage and see if there are new connections, or I make a new collage. If you try this exercise yourself, I'd love to hear how it goes! Best wishes for a creative 2025.