Last year, I had a post at the beginning of each month describing how you could use the month as a setting. This year, I will focus on one aspect of each month. So to kick things off in January, I will explore New Year’s Day as writing inspiration.
First-footing
One superstitions I always remember about New Year’s Day is first-footing, a belief, which according to Wikipedia, comes from Scotland and Northern England. The first person to enter a home on New Year’s Day will bring either good or bad luck in the coming year, depending upon such things as gender and appearance. A tall man with dark hair is considered good luck. Agatha Christie uses this superstition to help solve a ten-year-old death in the short story, “The Coming of Mr. Quin” in the book The Mysterious Mr. Quin.
Old Year/New Year
In the fantasy short story “Deadline”, found in the book Haunts, Haunts, Haunts, Richard Matheson provides a reason behind the idea of the old year personified as an old man and the new year as a baby with tragic results. The personification could also work for a happier or humorous story. A short story where the old man briefs his replacement on what to expect during the course of his job would be very funny.
Football
In Ohio, the retirement of legendary college football coach Urban Meyer has been all over the news. His last game was a bowl game on New Year’s Day. The date is fitting for a retirement and would work for any story about a football coach who is leaving his profession. Or for anybody who is leaving a job on that day.
Resolutions
New Year’s Day resolutions can kickstart many plots. They can be the reasons a character changes for better of worse. A comic competition can start between two friends or two relatives who challenge each other with the same resolution. Using resolutions works best if you begin the story on New Year’s Day, track your characters over a year, and wind up on the next New Year’s Day.
How can you use New Year’s Day as writing inspiration?
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