2024 Writing Gift Guide
If I could encourage you to give yourself a single gift this holiday season, it would be time. Take time off from work or chores to read and write. Give yourself time to connect to the ideas that attract and delight you. And don’t forget to nourish the well: art and nature feed your writing brain. Go to see art in any form that thrills you—movies, music, murals, paintings, or pie! Spend time in nature—even if it’s cold outside.
If you need to or want to monetize this, you can purchase a membership to a museum, nature preserve, or planetarium. Sometimes paying for an outing will help us pay attention to that part of our lives.
Gifts for Brainstorming!
These are gifts to help you brainstorm your future and your stories.
Consultation
Instead of sitting in your office with your head in your hands or walking around the neighborhood muttering to yourself, why not schedule a coaching session. From now until the end of the year, I have a limited number of 30 minute coaching sessions available for a reduced price. Sign up on the consultation page.
Business Planner
For the past few years, I’ve used the Leonie Dawson Business planner to help me imagine my next year. Maybe you’ll like it, too?
Notebooks!
I’m a serious pen and paper gal, and my favorite notebooks for planning are the Moleskine softcover notebooks. I get them in two sizes, extra large for mind mapping stories and presentations and large for taking notes. I like the blank pages without lines, but they also come
Markers
I keep a bullet journal, and I need colorful markers to help me sort my ideas. I love the Zebra Pen Mildliner Double Ended Highlighter Set in assorted colors.
Pen holder
A friend gave me this vintage typewriter penholder, and I use it to hold my business cards when I’m presenting. But in between, it’s great for holding your daily pens and pencils.
Healthy You
I’m in several writing groups online, and one of the things veteran writers talk about is their back health. It turns out that sitting for hours at a time hurts your back and shoulders. (Duh!) My new approach is to get up every 20-30 minutes and stretch. These tools help me do that and keep me healthier when I am seated.
Timers
If you need a timer for writing sessions or to prompt breaks, these are quiet and pretty–just what you need for a peaceful writing session.
Support Pillow
I have one of these pillows for my desk chair and one for my car. It helps keep my back healthy when I have to sit for longer than 20 minutes.
Writing Fun
So the writing life can get very predictable unless you have a way to shake it up. Here are a couple of tools I use to shake it up.
Why not try some writing dice to prompt new ideas? The Two Tumbleweeds Writing Dice is a fun way to stir the pot and add a little drama.
I bought these years ago and love having them around. If you have an extra table in your office or house, you can make Haiku with these fun cubes:
Where are the books?
I’ll be featuring books in a future issue. Keep your eyes out for my annual holiday reading guide!
