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...