Deborah Woehr

Can you believe the holidays are here again?! When looking for gifts for writers, I came across several blog posts that declared how hard we writers are to shop for. I emphatically disagree, and I’ll prove it.

1. Gift Certificates and Pre-paid Cards: Staples, Office Max, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iTunes, Starbucks

2. How to Write Books: I’ll list some of my favorites, but you can easily spend hundreds of dollars building this type of reference library. I’ll list some of the books I have. Maybe you have them already. If not, and you find a couple that intrigue you, jot that down on your list.

• On Writing, by Stephen King - A must have for every writer
• Elements of Style, by Strunk & White
• Webster’s Dictionary
• Roget’s Thesaurus
• Chicago Manual of Style
• Writing Dialogue, by Tom Chiarella
• Plot, Ansen Dibell
• Creating Character Emotions, by Ann Hood
• Building Believable Characters, by Marc McCutcheon
• Book Marketing from A to Z, by Francine Silverman
• Writing NonFiction, by Dan Poynter (check out parapublishing.com for more great books)
• Damn! Why Didn’t I Write That?, by Marc McCutcheon
• The Joy of Writing Sex, by Elizabeth Benedict
• Dynamic Characters, by Nancy Kress
• The Well-Fed Writer, by Peter Bowerman
• Back for Seconds, by Peter Bowerman
• The Well-Fed Self-Publisher, by Peter Bowerman
• Web Copy that Sells, Maria Veloso
• The Ultimate Sales Letter, by Dan Kennedy
• The Online Copywriter’s Handbook, by Robert Bly
• Advertising Secrets of the Written Word, by Joseph Sugarman
• Real Screenwriting, by Ron Suppa
• The Writer’s Guide to Writing Your Screenplay, by Cynthia Whitcomb
• Dramatica for Screenwriters, by Armando Saldana-Mora
• Consider the Source: A Critical Guide to 100 Prominent News and Information Sites on the Web
• Information Trapping: Real-Time Research on the Web, by Tara Calishain
• Writing Creative Nonfiction, by Philip Gerard
• How to Write Articles for Newspapers and Magazines, by Dawn Sova
• The Renegade Writer, by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell
• Ghostwriting for Fun and Profit, by Eva Shaw
• The First Five Pages, by Noah Lukeman

3. Alphasmart Neo: a portable typewriter that easily imports and exports your writing to and from your computer via a USB cord. If you commute to work by train or bus, this will be a godsend, especially if you think faster than you can write. I used mine while flying back and forth across the country last summer. This is a great gift for any writer because you can take it anywhere, whether on the road or the living room so you can keep an eye on the kids.

Another version is the Alphasmart Dana is laptop-PDA hybrid, which synchronizes with your computer (Mac or PC) and Microsoft products, such as Word. That’s a big plus because you don’t have to reformat your type once you import it onto your computer, like you do with the Neo. That said, I’ve found a handy text cleaner tool that formats my quotes into smart quotes before I open the file with Word or Nissus.

I looked at both the Neo and the Dana before I made my final decision. Sometimes I wished that I had bought the latter, especially when I was on the road and didn’t have access to the Internet unless I went to a Starbucks. The Wi-Fi capability of the Dana was the reason why I opted for the Neo, so I wouldn’t get distracted like I do on my computer. The Dana also has a much shorter battery life: 25 hours versus the Neo’s 700 hours.

Compare the two laptops at AlphaSmart Direct. Right now, you can get the Neo for $219 (regularly priced at approximately $350)

Or, you can order the Neo through the Writer’s Digest link at www.alphasmart.com/lp/wd

4. USB Flashdrive for backup storage. I got one of these last Christmas and love it because I can transfer files from one computer to another.

5. Fiction 101 and 201: Randy Ingermanson, developer of The Snowflake Method, has written some courses on writing that have garnered some glowing reviews. You can check them out at www.advancefictionwriting.com

6. Magazine Subscriptions: There are a handful of great magazines for writers. Some of the best include Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Writer, Poets & Writers Magazine, Script, etc.

7. Software for Writers: Common sense says that all you really need to write your novels is a word processor and a few good how-to books on whatever subject you’re writing about. Thanks to the Open Source market, you can chuck Microsoft Word, which wasn’t made for writing novels anyway. That said, here are some “writer’s indulgences” that are worth checking out.

• Dramatica Pro - for the masochistic writers who relish delving into themes, character, plot, etc. This is the powerhouse of story development software. You can easily spend a solid week (or more) answering all 250 questions. For beginners, I suggest trying out the lighter version, which is called Writer’s Dream Kit. It’s not nearly as intense.
• Power Structure - This is a neat program that allows you to see your story at a glance. Create characters, scenes, and chapters with this baby. Comes with templates for screenwriting, fiction and theater.
• Movie Magic Screenwriter - the industry software for screenwriters. I can’t give a review on it yet. Look for that in 2008, when I write my first screenplay. What attracted me to this software was the ability to write novels as well as screenplays. This is an all-in-one program, which can either be useful or cumbersome. I’ll let you know.
• Circus Ponies Notebook - I use this program to store all of my research, outlines, pictures, To-Do lists, etc. Notebook is for anyone who needs to organize their information. Highly recommended. Free trial available at Circus Ponies
• Curio - I found this program somewhat unwieldy, but other writers really enjoyed this program. It’s basically a visual brainstormer that lets you store images, create mind maps, index cards, etc. Free trial available at Zengobi. For Macs only.

This list is nowhere near complete, as this post is getting rather long. To get more ideas, enter “software for writers” or “writing software” in your search engine and see what comes up. Or, visit two of my favorite writer’s software links:

MasterFreelancer
The Writers Store

8. Slippers, robes, and pajamas. I don’t know about you, but Sundays are my days to do nothing but sit in front of my computer and write, whether it’s my latest WIP or a bunch of blog posts. If I don’t have to, I won’t bother getting dressed that day.

9. Gym memberships. Let’s face it, writing is a sedentary occupation. Unless you make a concerted effort to exercise every day, you’re likely to gain weight over time.

10. Word Games. I can’t think of a better way to build your “mental muscles” than playing word games. Bookworm is one of my favorite online word games. Scattergories is another favorite.

There you have it. If you didn’t have any ideas for your writer friend or relative before, you should now. If you’re a writer and would like to add to this list, feel free to add your suggestions in the comments.