This activity was offered to Art Gym by Kendell on January 4, 2026. It is a kind of new year’s / reflection point writing activity that uses the tools of fiction to find new angles on our experiences, pulling us out of typical journaling exercises and into a deeper, more critical reflection.
Write a letter to the previous year
If the year could hear from you, and even respond, what would you want to say? What tone falls naturally in the lines of this letter? Is it a break-up letter? A love letter? Imagine that the year is a person (with a mailbox) that could read this.
End your letter with a question — again, as if expecting a response, what question would you like the year to answer? what can it tell you?
Respond
Taking the question you composed at the end of your letter as your topic, write four more letters in response to the first:
- From an internal perspective: write a letter, responding to the question, as one of your own internal organs
- External perspective: write a letter, responding to the question, from the perspective of an object that is part of your daily life or routines.
- Ally: Write a letter, responding to the question, from the perspective of someone who loves you (we found this worked best when we chose someone who loves us, but doesn’t encounter or depend on us daily — a far away friend, for example)
- Stranger: Write a letter, responding to the question, from the perspective of someone who doesn’t know you.
Reflect & Discuss
If working in a group, take the time to discuss your process. What insights emerged? What was surprising? Which perspective was hardest? Which was richest? Did your question change as you went? Do you have more or new questions?
Write a letter to the next year
Jump yourself ahead one full year. The year has happened. Write a letter to the year, having imagined it passed. What reflections do you have? End with a question.