Christmas gifts for writers, part 1

Captain’s Log, Stardate 11.10.2006

Blog book giveaway:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.
My Monday book giveaway is Lost in Nashvegas by Rachel Hauck.
My Thursday book giveaway is A Carol for Christmas by Robin Lee Hatcher.
You can still enter both giveaways. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for the Lost in Nashvegas and post the title for another book I'm giving away.

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It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas...

Last year, I came across an article on gifts for writers, and I expanded on it with an article of my own. I’ll be posting a part of it every Friday and then eventually post the entire article on my Story Sensei blog.

I’m starting this series early so your loved ones—er, Santa can start saving up for maybe something extra special.

And if you have ideas of your own, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list!

Gifts for Writers, part one

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but it might help jump-start some other creative ideas. Some of these taken from All I Want for Christmas by Diana Rowe Martinez. I also have several Levenger.com products because I like them and think they’re wonderful gifts for readers/writers.

• Gift certificate to any of the major bookstores--Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, Borders, Christianbook.com, or my favorite, Amazon.com (cheaper books, free shipping on orders over $25, and no sales tax)

• Gift certificate to Office Depot or any office supply store

• Dictionary and/or Thesaurus--one of the biggest and most comprehensive. My favorite thesaurus is the Visual Thesaurus, which you can purchase as a CD and/or subscribe to the online version, which is constantly updated.

• Gift certificate for Levenger.com--unique, practical and/or luxurious gifts for readers and writers

• Case of printer paper--white, 20lb.

• Printer cartridge

• E-book reader

• Office furniture: file cabinet, desk organizer, desk lamp, ergonomic keyboard/mouse, filing shelf, footrest

• A day with a professional organizer

• Maid service for a month/few months/year

• Laptop case or a laptop carrier with wheels and pull handle (however, one caution about this—some women are picky about their laptop bags. It’s kind of like choosing a purse for a woman—most have very specific ideas about what they want and would rather choose the style themselves.)

To be continued next week Friday.

TMI:

Bible in 90 Days: Day 12.

“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.” Deuteronomy 29:29

Camy’s interpretation: God is way more mysterious than we can imagine. But I am responsible for what he has made known to me about himself—his power, his love, his holiness. I need to obey him based on what I do know about him.

Writing: I posted another article on developing your writer’s voice at my Story Sensei blog.

Wrote a little yesterday but not very much. I’m also trying to fill out my scene index so that I can move forward on my writing without having to stop and plan for the next scene.

Diet: I exercised yesterday! That’s four days in a row! Now for tomorrow and Saturday.

Comments

Winter Peck said…

Camy, you posted this list at the right time. A local boy scout group has adopted my family for Christmas as a means to give something back to those with loved ones in Iraq. When I was asked what I would like to get I came up blank. Luckily, the leader is going to call me back and this time I have a good idea of what they can get me.

Oo, I could use several boxes of printing paper! LOL!

Fri Nov 10, 02:02:00 PM 2006

Unknown said…

Great suggestions, one and all. I particularly like the maid service for a year! LOL As if!

Fri Nov 10, 03:24:00 PM 2006

Anonymous said…

Love your list! Love it!!! I adore office supplies, and books, but that's a given. Go Camy!

Fri Nov 10, 07:58:00 PM 2006

Sean Carter said…

Great idea Camy!! The list is quite interseting!! You can also peep into my Holiday Blog for some more out of the box Christmas ideas....

Sun Nov 12, 10:10:00 PM 2006

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th

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Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

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I made my original Comfortable Cotton Skirt with a simple eyelet round at the bottom, but this one has a simple antique garter stitch lace edging, “Edging to Trim the Body and Sleeves” on page 43 of the book New Guide to Knitting and Crochet , published in 1847. You can download a free ebook copy of the book here . The edging was originally to trim a Baby’s Knit Body, but I have no idea what that is. :P If you do, please do leave a comment. I also changed the hip increases to 4 distinct darts rather than 8 sections, but if you prefer the hip increases from my original Comfortable Cotton skirt, you can substitute that. Like the original Comfortable skirt, this one is cotton for summer, and loose for casual wear. It has a little positive ease and is only slightly flared. The waist is drawstring rather than elastic so that I can loosen it on my fat days or after pigging out at my favorite restaurant. This pattern/recipe is for my size, but there are instructions at the bottom for

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The Robe by Wes King

Captain’s Log, Stardate 01.07.2006 I’ve been developing the spiritual theme for this current project for a while, and I think I’ve finally nailed it down. This song has inspired me in my own walk, but then it occurred to me that it communicates the emotional theme for my WIP very well, too. The Robe by Wes King Anyone whose heart is cold and lonely Anyone who can't believe Anyone whose hands are worn and empty Come as you are Anyone whose feet are tired of walking And even lost their will to run There is a place of rest for your aching soul Come as you are For the robe is of God That will clothe your nakedness And the robe is His grace It's all you need Come as you are Anyone who feels that they're unworthy Anyone whose just afraid Come sinner, come and receive His mercy Come as you are For the robe is of God That will clothe your nakedness And the robe is His grace It's all you need Come as you are From the album: The Robe c1993 Emily Boothe, Inc. (BMI)/Careers-BMG Mus

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I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci

Ashlyn's Yoga Bag knitting pattern w/ @KnitPicks Dishie

Jaycee Weaver is one of the twelve authors who participated with me in the Christian Contemporary Romance anthology, Save the Date . Jaycee’s novella in the anthology is titled Braver With You . In celebration, I wrote a knitting pattern for the yoga mat bag used by Jaycee’s heroine, Ashlyn. Update 2022: The Save the Date anthology is now out of print, but Jaycee’s novella is available individually on Kindle! (In case you missed it, here are the links for my interview with Jaycee part 1 and part 2 , and an excerpt of one of Jaycee’s other books, Whatever Comes Our Way .) This yoga mat bag for Jaycee Weaver’s heroine, Ashlyn, is both pretty and practical. I made the base of the bag a little large, so that it will fit a variety of lengths of mat, and my husband (who does yoga every week) says that a larger base helps protect his mat a little better when he has to walk or bike with it to his yoga class. My husband’s mat was extra-thick so it was a slightly snugger fit than my o

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