Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Five Last Minute Gift Ideas For Writers


Next week is Christmas. Where has the time gone? At this point, you’re either in two camps: completely finished with your Christmas shopping, or still trying to finish up before you run out of time. Which brings me to this blog post. If you’re feeling stumped on what to get a writer for Christmas during this holiday crunch time, here are five gift ideas. All of them are either Amazon Prime eligible or digital, so you’ll have them in time for Christmas. And hey, maybe you’ll even find something for yourself here.




1.) Writing Resources


Writing isn’t as easy as it looks. There are so many things that a writer has to know for their stories. Locations, characters, descriptions, etc. It can get a little overwhelming. Which makes writing resources so handy. These books can give tips and advice to make things a little bit easier for writers. They show us different ways to go about writing, how to improve, what traits we can give our characters, and descriptions we can use to liven things up.

If you want to buy writing resources, here are some of my personal recommendations:

Your Personal Fiction-Writing Coach by Stephanie Bond



Body Beats to Build On: A Fiction Writer’s Resource by April W. Gardner



The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman



The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi



The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Flaws by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi




2.) Writing Games


Writing isn’t all fun and games… Except when it is. Writing games are great ways for writers to try their hand at different ideas. When you’re in a creative slump or just don’t know what to write, the games are a good way to get those creative juices flowing and make you think outside the box. They make writing fun again.

There are different options for games on Amazon, but here’s one that I would recommend:

The Writers Toolbox: Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the ‘Write’ Side of Your Brain by Jamie Cat Callan




3.) MasterClass


Taking a step away from gifts you can buy on Amazon, my next idea is MasterClass. MasterClass is a website of online classes taught by, well, masters. You can find everything on here from music, photography, cooking, and, as it’s on this list, writing. Writers such as Neil Gaiman, R.L. Stine, Judy Blume, James Paterson, and more give you their personal tips and advice for writing. These classes are told through video lessons, and give you assignments to work on if you want to. Don’t worry, there’s no time limit and you won’t get graded. You pay for the class you want to take, or you can buy an all-access pass that lets you explore everything on the website. I’ve been working my way through Neil Gaiman’s MasterClass, and I’ve found it super informative.

If you’re interested in checking out MasterClass, here’s the link to the website: https://www.masterclass.com/


4.) Novelty Items


Now, back to Amazon. If you’re wanting to give something a little more whimsical as a gift, there are plenty of novelty items to be found for writers. From coffee mugs, jewelry, shirts, and teas, there are endless possibilities that are sure to put a smile on a writer’s face.

Here are just a few items that you can find:

Novel Teas



Writer Facts Shirt




First Lines Literature Coffee Mug




5.) Notebooks


Still not sure what to buy? Then there’s always the handy option of notebooks. A writer can never have enough notebooks. Okay, maybe they can, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not great gifts. You never know when inspiration might strike, and notebooks are great ways to keep your ideas straight. I personally like to try to give each story it’s own notebook, so I can make sure I remember which ideas and characters go with each story. So if you have a lot of story ideas, you’re going to need a lot of notebooks. Plus, you can find notebooks in a lot of places, so you don’t even have to order them online.


Bonus Idea: Amazon Gift Card


If all else fails, there’s always the option of a gift card. Everything on this list, aside from MasterClass, can be found on Amazon. So with a gift card, your writer pal can buy the stuff on this list themselves, or buy some books that they’ve been eyeing.

Saturday, January 5, 2019

December Monthly Recap




Books Read



Comeback Girl (Parts 1-6) – 4-5/5

These books are part of a daily serial, where each part consists of one month and each chapter is a day in that month. The first part started off a little slow, but starting with part two I was hooked. This was a clever mystery involving a writer, and I honestly didn't see the bad guy coming, so props to Stephanie Bond for the twist. These are pretty short and you can honestly finish one part in one sitting, which honestly makes you feel a little productive when you get through six parts in a few days.


Ready to Fumble – 5/5

I really loved this mystery. The story was great, the characters were interesting, and I couldn't put it down. This book was the first full length novel in a long time that I've been able to read in a single day. I love it when a novel is able to pull me in and keep me guessing.


Movies Watched


Ralph Breaks the Internet

This was a cute movie. I don't think its quite on the same level as the first movie, but it was still enjoyable to watch. I especially loved the parts with the Disney Princesses, and it was fun trying to find all of the different website references when Ralph and Vanellope first enter the Internet.


Book of the Month


So after some debate, I've decided to take a couple of months off from doing a book of the month (really just January and February), so the next Book of the Month post will take place in March. I'll still be reading and giving my thoughts in my monthly recap posts.