The gift giving season is upon us and there’s always that one person who’s difficult to buy for. Am I right? And usually, it’s the write person. (See what I did there?)
On this week’s upcoming Firsts in Fiction podcast, we’re talking about that very subject. Over the last week, we (and by we, I mean Aaron, Al, and myself, along with our merry media elves) have posed this question:
What’s a great gift to get the author in your life?
Finding the Write Gift
While I don’t want to give away the store (err, answers) here, I thought I’d at least share some of the FIF Family’s suggestions.
So put on your Santa hat and have a ho-ho-holiday time as we count down the best gifts to get your writer.
1. A private island. (Molly)
A Writer’s Paradise – a Private Island
Seriously. How often has your writer tried to get away from it all by locking themselves in the back room, sitting in a car, or running away to a coffee shop? See No. 3, below. Seclusion is necessary for the writer. In order to create our own worlds, we have to shut out the real one. A writer’s island holds no distractions like TV, ringing phones, or ~ dare I say it ~ the occasional familius interruptus.
More practical:
noise-cancelling headphones
a gift card for a spa day or one night at a hotel
pocket notebooks to jot notes in when your writer can’t get to their workspace
GIFT BASKET OPTIONS: white noise CD, postcard, small plant, candle
2. A private jet. (Al)
A Private Jet for Your Traveling Writer
Writing isn’t just writing anymore. Now it means book signings, conferences, marketing meetings, publicity appearances and more. A private jet is the ticket to get your writer out the door and back home faster. And with no other passengers to distract him or her, it also serves as a mobile private island. See No. 1, above.
More practical:
gas cards and travel expenses
writers conferences and retreats
offer to keep them company and drive them to their next writing commitment
GIFT BASKET OPTIONS: travel journal, map, luggage tags, small photo album
3. A cafe/bistro/restaurant of their own. (Molly, Aaron, Al)
The Write Cafe
We all know writers have ink in their veins. Let’s not ignore the caffeine IV they require. How often have you stopped into a Starbucks and seen someone leaning over their laptop, typing frantically with one hand while holding their coffee in the other? A small cafe allows someone else to be responsible for the food and clean up. All the writer has to do is write. And, bonus, when that book contract is finally signed and the manuscript published, you already have a place to invite everyone to celebrate the success!
More practical:
treat them (and their family) to a nice dinner
gift card to their favorite coffee shop
single-serve coffee maker and a month’s worth of coffee
Solve the problem of running out of ink and paper by giving your writer full and permanent access to everything imaginable from a new computer to colored paperclips. No more moments of frustration when they can’t find their favorite brand of pen. And when they start a new project, they can supply their writing space in coordinating themes and colors.
More practical:
ink and paper
computer maintenance program
mailing supplies
GIFT BASKET OPTIONS: desk organizers, day planner, journal/pen set, stickee notes
5. A private library. (Aaron)
Just what a writer needs – more books.
Research is essential to writing a compelling story, but small town libraries (and some bigger ones) don’t always work out. Books are checked out by others. Magazines are ripped and torn. Plus, you can’t keep any of them. A private library assures your writer their much needed references will be available any time they need. When one thought rabbit trails to another, at least you’ll still be able to find your writer in the stacks. Information is King, and you just gave your writer the kingdom.
More practical:
new computer and software
Kindle or other eReader and a gift card for downloads
external hard drive
GIFT BASKET OPTIONS: books on writing, collector’s editions of favorite books, magazine/newspaper subscription, gift card to book stores
And since we’re in the season of giving, here’s an extra entry. Give. Most writers supplement their writing income by teaching, editing, and a plethora of other talents. It takes time, energy and resources away from their works-in-progress. You can help them hurdle over the starving artist syndrome by donating:
Time. Clean their house, run errands, be a once-a-week personal assistant.
Resources. Do you have connections or knowledge that can move their story along?
Money. It costs a lot to live the write life. Even without the big-ticket items in this post.
[If you have a question for the authors visit Aaron’s website for Ask The Author and if he uses your question on air this week, you’ll get a code for a free audio download of his novel, The Bargain. You don’t have to be a writer, and you don’t have to view the podcast to participate.]
Well, one of the first tasks I get to do is help promote her newest book giveaway.
21 Days of Christmas
The Fiction Lover’s Devotional Series is a great collection of 21 short, easy to read, thought-provoking stories and the newest edition is ready just in time for Christmas.
All you need to do is click on over to FictionDevo.com and click on the contest tab [or just click here] and enter via the Rafflecopter options.
Last week I had a Skype session with Keri Jaehnig of Idea Girl Media. We went to school in Michigan before we both moved away. Naturally our conversation took on the what-do-you-like-where-you’re-at-now direction.
I sipped my sweet tea and listened as she told me about her new digs, and I thought, surely I could come up with at least five things to like about Ohio. Can’t I?
Let’s test this theory . . .
5. Ohio State University. I mean the colors alone are worth loving this Big Ten university. Am I right? Red and white. It just screams Christmas all year ’round. Don’t get me wrong, though. I live for the yearly battle against UM. I’ll forever be maize and blue. As my friend Cyle and I discussed at Blue Ridge, ’tis far, far better to be from Ohio and drive north to Michigan for schooling, than it is to be from Michigan and head south of the border.
Santa or Ohio? I get confused . . .
4. Buckeyes. Not to be confused with edible chestnuts, buckeyes are “moderately toxic”. Your stomach will not be your friend if you ingest these lookalikes. Buckeye trees once populated Ohio’s lands, and were made even more popular during William Henry Harrison’s 1840 Presidential campaign. That’s cool. I’m just a fan of that dark brown hue.
Chestnuts or Buckeyes?
3. Fireflies (Lightning Bugs). During summer breaks, we would drive south to visit family in Toledo. We loved starting the trip at dusk, as thousands of lightning bugs lit up the fields. I couldn’t find a decent firefly photo, but here’s an awesome firefly in a jar craft that Dot and I did several years ago.
Fireflies in a Jar (Craft)
2. Cedar Point. This amusement park is home to one of America’s largest Ferris wheels. I’ve never been on the Giant Wheel and given my fear of heights and propensity for quick-onset vertigo, it’s a good chance I never will. Still, I have many marvelous summer memories of my times at Cedar Point, from the amazing food venues to my first roller coaster, Blue Streak.
Cedar Point Giant Wheel
1. But the best reason to like Ohio (and you can’t tell me y’all didn’t see this one coming), is that the longest it will take you is about five hours to get from the southern most part of Ohio up to Michigan.
The Mitten of Michigan.
And there you have it. Five reasons why this former Michigander will always like Ohio.
So, what do you like best about your neck of the woods?
Merry Christmas! How exciting that it’s less than a week away.
Are you ready? I’m so ready, I’m getting ready for next year already! Okay, not really. But almost really. I’ve definitely got plans. I may even venture into the world of day-after-Christmas shopping to find some amazing pack-it-away-for-eleven-months deals.
But that’s next year, and that’s a little ahead of the game.
This year, I have a few more gifts to give . . . to you!
I sometimes feel like a circus performer, juggling more plates than a normal person would, yet artfully keeping them up in the air without fail.
For the most part, anyway. The law of averages dictates that sooner or later, the law of gravity will take hold of one or more items and, well, you know . . .
Still, I enjoy working so many angles with my writing. Social Media and Marketing for others. Promoting my own projects. Running New Inklings Press. And, of course, actually writing.
It’s when I don’t make time for writing that the rest of my world turns to chaos. And so, once the fall cleaning, the new budget, and the flu had all run their course out of Bedford Manor, I was able to get back on track by getting back into writing.
NOLA is on its third draft ~ a combination of the rough draft and the second rework which didn’t go so well. I’m learning more about my characters each day and how they think, feel, live. I’m learning to listen to my characters, and allow them more freedom in telling the story, instead of dictating every scene in my own linear thinking.
My friend Beckie and I are forming a critique group for the Writers Club. It will be another outlet for our creativity, as well as a means to offer and receive support, encouragement, and wisdom from other writers.
I recently updated The Penny Parable and A Study on the Ten Commandments for Kindle. I now have three eBooks available, and over 50 print copies of The Unemployment Cookbook still in inventory.
I’m working on a series of blog posts for January ~ potato-based recipes. I’m becoming a huge fan of boiled, baked and mashed potatoes. I’ve always loved potatoes, but lately I’ve been doing much more than I used to. I can’t wait to share some ideas with you.
For Christmas I’ll be reading my Narnia collection, a family story written by my uncle, and Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Charles Dickens
But first, it’s time to enjoy this wonderful life.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
Please share my GoFundMe #DoingTheWriteThing campaign by clicking on the poster below. If just one thousand people purchase each of my three Kindle titles (a total of three eBooks for less than $5), I’ll earn the full funding and be able to attend two major writing conferences in Spring, 2015.
