Gifts for Writers

by Sparkle Abbey

We wanted to do a little something different this year with our December post. Most everyone knows writers love notebooks, pens, and basic office supplies, but for those of you with a special writer in your life who are stumped for gift ideas beyond the usual, we’ve got 5 suggestions ranging from $10 to $500.

Aqua Notes –The best ideas come in the shower...or when we’re folding laundry. With these bad boys, that special writer in your life will never forget that amazing idea that popped into their head in the middle of lathering up.  Possible side effect:  A “To Do” list waiting for that special someone who was waiting to use the shower.

Storiatrs Fingerless gloves – You’ve probably seen these on your Facebook Feed…or maybe you haven’t if you’re not a writer. These fabulous gloves keep a writer’s hands warm, while keeping their fingers free to fly across the keyboard. What makes these gloves special is that they’re covered in text from classic novels.  Storiarts also carries scarves, T-Shirts and pillow covers.

Coffee shop gift card – You’ve seen the memes, “Coffee: The official Fuel of Writers,”  “One simply does not start writing without coffee,” “Writer on deadline, please send coffee.” Not only do writers love their coffee, they love their local coffee shops.  Writing at a coffee shop can be productive, provides a time limit to meet their word count, and is great for people watching. A gift card to their favorite coffee shop is always a winner!

Noise canceling headphones – Writers can be easily distracted, but once we’re in our fictional world we’re great at blocking the real world around us. Help the writer in your life focus on putting words on the page with a pair of noise cancelling headphones. Whether they listen to music or peace and quiet, a pair of these can help with their productivity. C/Net ranked the best noise cancelling headphones of 2016. If those are out of your price range, here’s a list of options from Amazon.

Standing desk – As a writer, we spend a lot of time BICHOK-ing (bottom in chair, hands on keyboard). The medical community has shouted at us for years that too much sitting is bad for our health. Maybe it’s time to consider a standing desk.  Now, before you whip out that credit card and spend a large sum of money on our well-intentioned suggestion, you might want to consider gently probing your writer if this is something they’re interested in. Swapping out sitting all day for standing all day isn’t necessarily the best idea. It might be better to ease into it by alternating between sitting and standing. There are a number of standing desks on the market.  We suggest Googling “Height-Adjustable Standing Desk” and find the best option for your writer.

So those are our top 5 picks. 

Okay, we have one more idea. If these aren't creative enought for you, check out Etsy for some unique and fun ideas. Etsy has everything from bookmarks, to mugs, to Jewelry.

As for our fellow writers, if there’s a gift out there you’re just dying to receive, let us know. We might be interested too!

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets--Sparkle (Mary Lee's cat) and Abbey (Anita's dog). If you want to make sure you're up on all the Sparkle Abbey news, stop by their website and sign up for updates at sparkleabbey.com.