Christmas is around the corner and if you’re like me then you still have some last minute shopping to get done. Finding it difficult to shop for that bookish writer in your life? Tired of trying to find the one book they haven’t yet bought themself? Try something new this year with the help of The Writing Barn’s Best “Last-Minute” Gifts for Writers.
10. A Grids and Guide Notebook: Now we all know writers love journals, probably have hundreds shoved on their shelves somewhere. Personally from experience I love getting a new journal any time of year. What makes the Grids and Guide notebook so special is its pages. Each one styled with a different pattern, this notebook uses creative constraints to get your writer brain bubbling. Diagonal poems? A short story written in squares? Re-imagine the way you journal!
9. Blue Light Glasses: Whether writing is your day job or your passion, perhaps if you’re really lucky both, there is one thing hard to avoid as writers, and that is staring at the computer for hours on end to finish that page count or make that deadline. Studies have made us aware of the harm that blue light from our computers can cause, including headaches, sleep disruption, and more. These glasses help combat those pesky problems and are also super stylish.
8. Book-Tour Tickets: While not all of them play in sold out stadiums like rockstars, authors do in fact tour for their books. Perhaps your writer friend has a beloved series or a favorite non-fiction writer they would kill to meet. Get them tickets to the author’s book talk and chip in (if necessary) for the add-on of a meet & greet/book signing. Places like Austin’s Book People are perfect for things like this. Check out their event schedule here.
7. Literary Stationary: One thing writers of any genre can appreciate is the lost art of letter writing. We writers know the satisfaction of writing a letter to a friend and receiving one back in the mail. The smell of a freshly sealed envelope or recently licked stamp is like a small slice of heaven. And what better way to inspire your writer to send you letters than with a literary themed stationary set.
6. Oblique Strategies: The literary market is saturated with different craft books and writing prompt sets, but my all time favorite is Oblique Strategies, a set of creative (and truly out there) prompts, made by musician and creative Brian Eno. The Oblique Strategies constitute a set of over 100 cards, each of which is a suggestion of a course of action or thinking to assist in creative situations.
5. A Weighted Blanket: This one may seem a bit strange, but trust me. What do writers do more than write? They read! And if you’re anything like me that means snuggled under a blanket. The benefits of a weighted blanket include anxiety and stress relief among others. Imagine a dog in a thunderstorm, we writers too can use the comfort of a blanket that feels like a tight hug, especially when our work is out on submission.
4. Audible Subscription: Sometimes writers have to make way for the mundane aspects of life, including grocery shopping or driving to work. Why not give them the ability to read no matter where they are or what they’re doing. An Audible subscription gives your writer access to hundreds of titles, old and new, they can listen to in the car, on break at the office, maybe even under their new weighted blanket.
3. 100 Essential Novels Scratch-Off Chart: We’ve all seen the scratch off world maps where you mark down every country you’ve visited. Well did you know they had one of those for writers and readers!? This Scratch-Off Chart is perfect for the person who loves a good list and who doesn’t mind working their way through 100 classic novels.
2. The Writer’s Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands: I hesitated to include any actual books because if I did we would be here forever. But this not so average book made the list because of how cool it is. The Writer’s Map is an atlas of the journeys that our most creative storytellers have made throughout their lives. This magnificent collection encompasses not only the maps that appear in their books but also the many maps that have inspired them, the sketches that they used while writing, and others that simply sparked their curiosity. Perfect for the traveler, writer, or world-builder in your life.
1. Invest in their writing with a Writing Barn Gift Card: Finally we make it to number 1, and what better way to show you support the writer in your life than by giving them the time and money to take a writing class or retreat. This holiday season help them to meet other writers and join a community that will offer accountability, critique, and support in their literary endeavors. Help them make 2019 their most productive and creative year yet.
Best Last Minute Gifts comes to you courtesy of WB Program Associate Jessica Hincapie, who’s currently wishing for a Grids and Guide notebook come Christmas morning. Happy holidays from all of us at the Writing Barn!