Gifts for Writers

Writers are the easiest people on earth to buy gifts for. First, there is the fabulously overpriced Levenger's catalog - the catalog alone makes a great gift. Pens and journals are good gifts. When I turned 50, my husband gave me a Mont Blanc pen. It is one of those things that I hope every writer gets in their lifetime. Notecards are also good gifts - we like to say thank you with style.

Books are probably the best gifts. There are books about writing. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott is a must for writers. Annie Dillard's The Writing Life is good. Natalie Goldberg has written many excellent books. William Zinsser's classic, On Writing Well is excellent. Then there are reference books, such as The Chicago Manual of Style and Strunk and White's, The Elements of Style. There are also books about creativity, such as Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Then there are fun books about writing, such as i never metaphor i didn't like by Mardy Grothe.

Then there are books that breathe life into us. Books that aren't about writing. Books that are so good that when we are reading them they inspire us to write even more. Sometimes a book is so magnificently written it makes us never want to write again, but we do anyway.

May you get the gifts you want and may you write the words you are meant to...

It All Counts

It seems that successful writers all have one thing in common - they write a lot. The other thing they seem to have in common is that they read. Larry L. King wrote, "Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts." I've heard many writers speaking about the importance of reading. What I like about this is that it all counts. If I am reading, I am being writerly.

What is a Real Writer and How Do They Find Time to Write?

Do real writers stop writing for Thanksgiving? Do they write in the margins of their lives, stopping between stuffing the turkey and making the pies, scribbling on paper towels? Or do they do what I do, yearn for quiet, a desk and a comfortable chair while simultaneously being grateful for the presence of people and the bountiful feast.

Last week my husband and I landed in Albuquerque for Thanksgiving with my mother and family. Lugging my computer and assignments, I fully expected to write. While at the airport, I posted to both of my blogs and I figured I'd work on my book and a couple of articles in the late night or wee morning. Hah! My mother was hospitalized the day after Thanksgiving. In the end it all worked out well for my mother but my writing took a back seat.I wondered how Susan Sontag wrote about her cancer; her son wrote about her dying process; May Sarton wrote about her stroke and Jill Bolte Taylor wrote about her cerebral hemmorhage. Did they keep diaries or do they have better memories than I do?

Nora Roberts wrote, "It is easier to fix a bad page than a blank one." Oh to have a bad page to fix...