New Year’s Eve is a fun night in the real world and it
can be a fun night in fiction as well. It could be a night of passion for a
romance story or a night of suspense for a mystery. Maybe two people meet at an
acquaintance’s party, or a murder takes place. Whatever happens, try to fit one
or more of the following highlights into your story.
1. New Year’s Eve Party
A lot can happen at a New Year’s Eve party. Dozens of
people get together wearing their best party clothes (glitter and sequins
galore) and consume pints of alcohol. There’s dancing, snacks, champagne, and
entertainment in the form of karaoke and watching the ball drop. You can spin a
party tale for a romance, mystery or thriller. And even for different age
groups including new adult and young adult.
2. Midnight Kiss
You can’t write about New Year’s Eve without including a
midnight kiss, or the dilemma of who your character will be sharing a kiss
with. It’s sweet if they share it with their love but intriguing if they share
it with a stranger. The outcome of the latter could be the start of a new
relationship or maybe he/she just kissed a murderer. Think about it….
3. New Year’s Resolution
A fun addition to a romantic-comedy or any genre is the
mention of a New Year’s resolution. Perhaps it’s said with sarcasm or with
hope. A good resolution for a romance…although a cliché…would be for a character to find
someone to love.
New Year’s traditions from around the world:
- Colored underwear. Many believe wearing yellow underwear on New Years Eve will bring happiness. Others believe red underwear will bring their soul mate to them.
- Eating lentils is supposed to bring a prosperous new year.
- In Ireland, they bang bread against the walls and doors of a house to chase away bad luck and spirits.
- Do a version of Spring cleaning to get rid of old and start fresh.
- Eat 12 grapes (one for each month) while making a wish.
- Write things you'd like to leave behind on a piece of paper and burn it so you don't bring bad habits, experiences, etc. into the new year.
- Light candles. Red will bring love and passion, orange is for wisdom. blue for peace, green for good health, and yellow for financial success.
QUESTIONS: What do you like most about New Year’s Eve?
What do you dislike?
What do you dislike?
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
QUESTION: What are some new year’s resolutions you’ve had in the
past?
My Answer: I set reasonable goals every New Year's
Eve. It's a tradition. I write down a list of goals, including some of my
deepest wishes on a piece of paper. Then I store it in a glass bottle for the
whole year. At the end of the year, I fish it out and see if I met any of my
goals.
Some of my old goals that I achieved:
- Move out of my apartment into a house
- Buy a laptop
- Get a car
- Get my GED
- Finish writing certain stories
- Submit certain stories for publication
