Mindy Carlson

It’s that time of year again! You’re scouring the interwebs and local shops, searching for THE perfect gift for that writer in your life. You want your gift to be clever! Inspiring! Useful!

Well, here you go.

Laptop Stickers

I’m loving personalizing my laptop with stickers that speak to me. This one made me laugh out loud. Because it’s true. I think every conversation at Bouchercon had at least one person mentioning how much they hope the FBI never checked their search history. Because that shit is disconcerting.

Liquid Holder

Hydrate or die-drate, baby. Writers are famous for sipping tea, but we’re usually so dehydrated we’re in danger of shriveling into raisins. Get your writer a gorgeous vat in which to store their water. But for the love of God, make sure it has a lid so you don’t have to find out how expense that cup of coffee can be. (Like Me.) I love this one featuring a laser cut image of Mr. Darcy’s Pemberley.

Inspirational Jewelry

Speaking of my BFF Jane, I love this pendant featuring the catchphrase of one Lady Catherine de Bourgh. And given the current political climate, we should wear our independence like a badge of honor. Obstinate? Yes. Headstrong? You bet. And my mother couldn’t be prouder.

Creative Design Software

One of my favorite ways to waste time is by playing around on Canva.com. It’s what I use to make all my ads, fun memes, short videos, and even t-shirt logos. You can even daydream through cover ideas for your novel or make a little mood board to keep your creative brain engaged and immersed.

Canva is free, but the professional tools really do take your marketing materials up a notch. A one-year subscription to Canva Pro is $120, or is $15 per month.

Music to Write By

I listen to music when I write. I have a brain that needs something else to occupy it going on in the background while I focus on what’s really important. I have Spotify downloaded onto my phone and I play it though my Google Nest Wi-Fi extended/speaker.

What I love about Spotify and Pandora and other music streaming services is that I can make a playlist that reflects the mood or scene I’m trying to write. It keeps me in the right headspace. There’s a free version or you can go premium for $12 per month

Notebooks

God, I love a notebook. I carry one with me everywhere. From a $3 composition notebook to a really nice Leuchtturm1917 bullet journal. (A5 sized soft-cover with dotted pages in Forest Green, Mom.)

One of my writer friends loves this notebook for plotting out her books. It’s accordion-style, with pages folded so you can straighten it out and follow a complete timeline.

If you want to go all out and embrace a paperless future and you have a few hundred bucks burning a hole in your pocket, you can buy a Remarkable 2, which looks amazing.

Although one of my favorite things is that a notebook is battery-free so I don’t have to remember to charge it…

Writing Programs

I will continue to preach the church of Scrivener. I love so much about this not the least of which is how it organizes my chapters, allows me to move chapters around, and has a plotting corkboard feature. Not to mention a name generator, word count tracker, and footnote and citation tracker for non-fiction writers. For only $60 this is a steal.

A friend recommended I look at Aeon Timeline, which you can use to plot out your books and track multiple story arcs, which will save me from drowning in those multi-POV mysteries I seem to want to write. I gave it a quick look and like the visuals. I might play around with it. You can try it free for a trial period or buy it for $65.

Writer T-Shirts

I’m a sucker for a writer t-shirt. I own this “Read Banned Books” one and I love the fabric and have found it comfortable, true to size, and long-wearing.

There are a ton on Etsy or Red Bubble. And there’s nothing like getting this kind of visual support from your friends/partner to motivate you to keep trying to get that book published.

And, really, this is the point of these gifts. Being a writer is a career full of doubts. You work for a year carving words into paper, then send it out to either get an agent or get a publisher, and it may not be purchased. A year’s worth of work for, what feels like, nothing–no pay, no recognition. And then you sit down and do it again and hope for different results. (The definition of insanity.)

So this holiday season, give the writer in your life a hug and something that says, “I see you.”