Christmas gifts for writers, part 3

Captain’s Log, Supplemental

Blog book giveaway:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.
My Monday book giveaway is A Dry Creek Christmas by Janet Tronstad
My Thursday book giveaway is A Family for Christmas by Irene Brand and Dana Corbit.
You can still enter both giveaways. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for the A Dry Creek Christmas and post the title for another book I'm giving away.

Win an iPod Nano! Exclusively for my newsletter YahooGroup subscribers, I have a huge contest running until January 31st! Get more info on my contest page!

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 three (continued from part two)

• Levenger’s Reader’s Table

I want this table because it can be used while lying in bed, adjusting the table over your lap but not on it.

• Levenger’s Scooter table with Laptop Landing Station

This is something I’d like to have to set my laptop on, or to use as a table for notes while I’m writing with my laptop. It’s fully adjustable.

• Arrange a writer's retreat for a weekend or a week—at a hotel nearby, an actual official retreat center, a nice bed and breakfast, a rental cottage.

A friend of mine and I did this for just a day—checked in to a local hotel on Friday, checked out on Saturday—and we got a lot done. Just the act of being away from home, without distractions, was very freeing for our creativity, efficiency, and productivity. Some writers retreat places purposely don’t have phones, TVs, or internet connections so that writers can be completely undistracted, without even the temptation of outside things. There are some cottages in the nearby mountains available for rent which also don’t have the amenities, although they’re not labeled specifically as writers retreat cottages. Other writers retreat facilities offer workshops or coaching.

• Randy Ingermanson’s Fiction 101 and/or Fiction 201 CD sets.

I took Fiction 101 at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference and it was fabulous. It really helped me understand the basics of story structure and what makes for a strong, tight storyline and character arc. For beginning writers, this is a very good resource, especially if you are an auditory learner—you learn by hearing a lecture rather than reading a book.

• Highlighters

• Pop-up Post-it dispenser, Post-its, flags

I use Post-Its on the wall for plotting my book out, but I also use flags and Post-Its when I’m doing research, or to make quick notes to myself. I keep these all over the house. It is absolutely horrible for me when I have an idea but nothing to write it down on, and then it’s gone and I can’t remember what it is.

• Binder clips, super-size paper clips

These are useful for entering contests, when they usually require each copy of the entry be bound with a large binder clip or a butterfly paper clip.

• Small notebooks to keep everywhere and write when inspiration strikes (There are neat little notebooks offered by Levenger that are styled like a matchbook with a pencil included, about 3.25” x 4.75”, called Matchbook Notebooks.)

To be continued next week Friday.

TMI:

Writing: I posted an article on dialogue at my Story Sensei blog.

I added 1000 words so far today—not much, but hopefully I can get more done tonight. It’s easier now that I know, in more detail, what scenes will come next and what needs to happen in each scene. When things were more vague, I had a total creativity stall. That’s the anal plotter side of me coming out.

Would you believe me if I told you I used to be a pantser?