A dear friend of mine reminded me of a one-act play I wrote in college. Like “White Hell,” it was also set at Thanksgiving.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my habit of setting stories during the holiday season. Here’s my rationale:

1. Family and Personal Drama. Forced togetherness can amp up the tension, expose cracks in happy facades, and shine a light on childhood traumas.
2. Reason no one is at work. I hate shows and movies where no one seems to need a job. How do you support yourself if you never go to work? Shouldn’t you be in school? Setting a novel at Thanksgiving or Christmas, gives me an easy excuse for why my characters have free time to find mischief.
3. Shared Experience. Holidays have their own language and culture so the audience can collect with the characters quickly.