Holiday Gifts for Writers

Holiday Gift List for Writers

It’s not too late! Here are some gift ideas for the writer in your life:

• A book on writing craft  – These can always inject energy into a novelist’s writing practice. I have many books on writing craft, but my new favorite is Nathan Bransford’s HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL. It’s well written, engaging, and packed with useful advice for writers at every stage of the process.
• Running/Walking Shoes – Yes, we writers sit at our desks a lot, which only makes it more important for us to get up from said desks and get outside. My personal writing output benefits tremendously from a regular exercise practice.
• Gift certificate to an office supply store – I have yet to meet a serious writer who isn’t fanatical about pens, notebooks, post-its, highlighters, you-name-it. Put simply: we love office supplies. Madly.
• The gift of art – Writing is art, and artists love art, and so consider giving tickets to a museum, a play, a concert. We writers are easily inspired, but we can get into ruts. Experiencing art in another form can really give us a boost. Even a tip on a great new band can be just the thing that helps us turn the corner on a tough draft.
• Books – Writers are, first and foremost, readers. Give the gift of a book. A gift certificate to a bookstore is perfect. There’s really nothing we love more than a great book.

Hope those suggestions help. Switching gears a bit, writer to writer, here’s my wishlist for you in 2014:

• Bravery – to tackle that revision, or that character, or that submission that has you quaking in your boots. Enough to make you reach past what feels comfortable, and into the unknown.
• Time – to read, revise, be inspired.
• Friends – to help you, encourage you, and make you laugh.
• Inspiration – so much that you feel like sharing it.
• Great stories – the kind that made you want to become a writer in the first place.

Happy holidays!