Since it’s less than two weeks till Christmas, I thought that I would do a little Writer’s Christmas Post. I know, I know – some of you would have already seen posts like this one, but I thought I would do it anyway. Often when I get to Christmas time and people ask me what I want – I have no idea how to respond. Perhaps other writers out there don’t know either. Usually what I would really like is some uninterrupted writing time so I can just potter about at my own pace and get some things done, whether it be planning or plotting or revising, or just plain old writing. Most of the time that just doesn’t happen.

So – what are the best gifts you could give a writer for Christmas?  

AWESOME WRITING BOOKS:

• Stephen King – On Writing (Goes without saying – bit of a writer’s bible.)
• Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi – The Emotion Thesaurus(These people have also released another two Thesaurus on Positive Traits and Negative Traits.)
• Rachel Aaron – 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love (Brilliant book for any writer of any level.)
• Alexandra Sokoloff – Screen Writing Tricks for Authors
• Anne Lamott – Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
• Les Edgerton – Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go

 
 

WRITING SOFTWARE:

• OmmWriter(Seriously, I can’t live without this amazing software. It’s blocks out the rubbish from distracting me, creating a perfect mental-Zen environment.)
• Scrivener (I don’t use this for writing, but I do use it extensively for revisions and edits. I know a lot of other writers who use it for everything.)

• Dragon – Dragon Naturally Speaking (Dragon is apparently the world’s best-selling speech recognition software. You just have to train it first.)
• Image editing software for writer’s who are self-publishing and want to do their own layouts and cover design.

 TECHY STUFF:

• Hard drive for backing up
• USB Sticks
• More memory loaded into the DropBox account
• Laptop or computer
• Kindle/e-reader (for reviewing their own books, of course!)
• iPad or Tablet (plus you’d better add in a Bluetooth keyboard with it as well.)

 OFFICE STUFF:

• A gorgeous designated writing space in the house!
• Pens and pencils (Seriously – every writer needs a good range of pens, in different colours – and don’t forget the highlighters!)
• Notebooks (Pretty ones are always nice, but writer’s rarely use them to scribble in… so just plain old boring ones will do fine.)
• Post-it notes
• Sticky tabs
• Nice pen holder
• Stapler
• A3 paper – just in case they’re like me and like to note down scene revisions and edits on large bits of paper and tape them to the wall)
• Whiteboard / corkboard
• Frames for photos or printed out motivators
• A standing desk – I have one at home, and I love it. It’s actually a book case with a monitor stand on it to lift my laptop to the right height, but brilliant.
• A laptop table with adjustable height and castors – so the writer can write in their favourite chair or on the sofa, yet still be kind of sociable with the rest of the household.

 OTHER HANDY STUFF:

• A nice tea cup and saucer (I know – not really writerly stuff, but a definite necessity!)
• A tray – to carry stuff from the kitchen, like snacks
• Chocolate
• A set of decent wine glasses
• Bottles of booze – doesn’t matter which kind – sometimes a writer just needs a little oomph. Wine is always a good choice.
• Swizzle Sticks – for a writer like me who drinks Gin and Tonic
• Amazon Gift Card
• iTunes Gift Card
• Writer’s jewelry and other bits ‘n’ bobs. Seriously. Check out Etsy.  
• A home-made voucher from the family allowing the writer to disappear for a few days to their destination of choice for a Writing Retreat

That’s all I can kind of think of at the moment. If anyone else has any suggestions – I would love to hear them!