Last-Minute Gift Ideas for Writers

I completely understand the juxtaposition of this post with my previous one. I really don’t like the greedy, commercial aspect of it, and yet here I am writing a post on the best last-minute presents to give to the writer in your life. I know. But, this seems to be a big thing on the internets. You give people ideas of what to get others that are interested in the same things as you. I think a bit of it has to do the person making the list subtly trying to give their loved ones ideas so they don’t end up with an itchy sweater and something they really don’t like.

So, swallowing my pride, I’m getting on this train too. I’m, hopefully, meaning for this to be actually helpful for people wanting to get something for the writers in their lives.

Before I get started I want to say that there are some businesses I’m specifically referencing and even providing links to. I am not sponsored by, partnered with, or associated in any way with these businesses. What I have to say about them are completely my own. I’m trying to put forth interesting and exciting gifts writers, like myself, might enjoy, not sway you into trying to purchase their products.

Now that that has been addressed, let’s go!

1. Stationary
   
   Every single writer I know, whether they use a computer exclusively or not, loves stationary. Pretty notebooks, colourful pens that write really smooth, post-it notes! The sheer amount of post-it notes and flags I have is insane! And I’m okay with that.
   Even if they are strictly writing only on the computer sort of writer, they will appreciate the thought. And maybe even put them on top of the pile of things they’ll eventually use, just don’t ask them when.
2. A Box Subscription
   Perhaps your writer is already subscribed to a box. Perhaps they’ve wanted to be but they’re either too young or too unsure if they want to.
   Why not get them one so they can see if it’s worth it for themselves?
   Every writer is also an avid reader. You can easily do a quick google search and find some bookish subscription boxes that they might like.
   The most popular one is Owlcrate.
   
   Which I have linked if you’re interested. It has a book of the month, as well as a bunch of themed goodies that go with the theme of the book, and every month is a different book and different themes.
   But there are tons of bookish subscription boxes, and you want to get one that’s specifically for the writer in your life. Well, there’s Scribbler.
   
   This one is meant specifically for writers, and while it does have some goodies to keep the writer going(i.e. coffee, tea, snacks, inspirational quotes, or buttons depending on the month), it focuses a lot more on the craft of writing and giving motivation and exercises to help you along the journey.
   For both of these boxes, you can purchase a one time box and have it sent to them, or you can get multiple boxes over several months. I think the intervals are one month, three months, six months, and one year(so, twelve months).
3. Gift Cards
   
   Before any of you say shit about gift cards not being personal, I want you to stop and listen. Gift cards are not impersonal. What they say is, ‘I was thinking about what to get you, but I’m not sure what you need, what you already have, and what you would like. So, instead of guessing, and getting something that you might not be happy with, I’m giving you this because I know you like to shop here, and this way you can get what you like without me stressing out about getting the wrong thing. Here’.
   I am always happy to get gift cards for Christmas and my birthday. I know the person who gave it to me thought enough about me to give me one to a place I actually will shop. And I don’t have to fake a smile thanking them for something I don’t like.
   These literally take the stress out of shopping. I don’t understand why people call them impersonal. They’re great. If ever you’re stuck, gift card.
4. A site Subscription
   There are so many different sites and services out there that are geared towards writers that are supposed to help them with their writing, their planning, outlining, editing, etc. Some of these are free options, but a lot of them are paid services, and a lot of the time they’re this way for good reason.
   Speaking from personal experience, I always want to try different things to see what I like, what works better for me, etc. That being said, I’m not sure I want to spend a decent amount of money if these services aren’t going to work for me. One of the best ways around this is purchasing a few month trials for them, and let them try it out.
   One of the big ones that I’ve heard great things about, is Scrivener.
   
   Scrivener is a program some writers swear by. Is has outlining and plotting tools, as well as formatting and editing.
   I personally have not tried it out, yet, but you can flick back and forth between different articles, make profiles for characters and connect them together like a wiki article. A subscription would be a great present, and a wonderful to try out for the writer in your life.
   Another potential subscription for your writer is World Anvil.
   
   World Anvil is a great tool for world-building. You can add maps to it, create all the lore you want on every town, building, race, etc. And the most important part is that it’s organized, and all easily found in one place. This is not a tool to help in the actual, physical act of writing. But it can really help out with the planning part, which is arguably the biggest hurdle that needs to be jumped over.
5. Miscellaneous Nick Knacks
   
   If you’re looking for something quick and relatively painless to get your writer, but don’t want to go the gift card route because you still think they’re impersonal, here’s a few ideas.
   A cute mug.
   Writers will always appreciate a cute mug. Whether the design on it is just really pretty, it has a funny joke on it, it’s a monogram mug and has their first, or last, initial on it, or it has some of their favourite characters on it. A mug will always be appreciated. Especially if it’s accompanied by their favourite warm drink. Hot chocolate, tea, a bag of coffee beans.
   Candles.
   First question, who doesn’t like a good candle? No one, that’s who. There is one issue with this, and that’s that you need to know what kind of scents your writer likes. If they like fruity, or floral scents, pine isn’t going to be what you should go for.
   Winter is also the best time to get someone a candle because everyone has copious amounts of them. For some reason, they’re a winter staple. I’m not going to complain about it, I just find it funny.
   Candles are always safe, if you know what scents they like it’s always a very safe gift.
   Candy.
   If candles are something everyone likes, candy is something everyone loves.
   Even if you’re sitting there saying you, or the person you’re on here looking for ideas for, don’t like candy or sweets. I guarantee you there is at least one kind of candy you like. It doesn’t have to be chocolate, or toffee, or caramel or anything like that. There are plenty of candies that are sour or sweet and sour. Sour patch kids, sour watermelon, sour cherries, warheads. There are rockets(smarties for you Americans), jolly ranchers, starbursts, Twizzlers. No one is going to be disappointed getting candy for Christmas, and if they are, they have further issues I don’t understand and am in no way qualified to discuss, especially here of all places.

So that’s all I have for you on the fifth day of Blogmas. I hope you enjoyed or found a good present idea for the writer in your life. To my writer buddies out there, what is something you would love to get, regardless of what holiday you celebrate? I’d love to hear if you’d like to share. Personally, as much as I love stationery, I think I would prefer a subscription box.

Anyway, I hope you’re having a wonderful day, and if it’s not wonderful I hope it gets better. And I will see you tomorrow.

-T.R. Flynn.

My Favourite Writing Snacks

This post may or may not have come into existence because I am hungry.

So, we all know that writers are people, mostly, and that people need to eat. Maybe I’m just the weird one who likes to eat as I work. In fact, I will pause in my work just to eat something because I feel I need. I may or may not have a problem, and I may or may not be okay with it.

Without further ado, here is my list of the best writing snacks, in my opinion.

1. M&Ms
   
   This should surprise absolutely no one who knows me. I love m&ms(I may or may not be munching on these right now). I prefer the peanut ones just for added texture. These are perfect for writing because you can be typing along and pop one(or a handful) in your mouth every once in a while. Or, if you’re like me and write in a notebook with a pen, one hand is writing, and the other if fueling your brain with these colourful delights.
2. Pocky
   
   Pocky is great! Not only is it available in a variety of flavours(Matcha and Chocolate are probably my favourites), but they’re perfect for when your hands are full. Pop a stick in your mouth and go wild. They’re a perfect hands free snack and can provide entertainment during those little lulls when you’re contemplating what to put next in your scene.
3. Smoothies
   
   This list has been pretty sugary thus far, so why not add some fruit into the mix. I do like me a good smoothie, and they can be healthy for you if you don’t load them up with toppings and syrup. I used to drink a lot of smoothies with protein powder in them as kinda a meal supplement, so I don’t drink them as often anymore. But I do still enjoy them. And they’re perfect for writing! They’re completely hands free, and if you add a bendy straw you just need to move your head a little bit. Or position the cup perfectly in front of you so you only need to sip. The best part is they’re completely customizable. You can even blend in greens if you want or are lacking.
4. Licorice
   
   If you can’t tell by now, I got a bit of a sweet tooth. But licorice is great for writing. Much like the pocky you grab one and eat as you write, and it lasts a little while too. Plus they can provide entertainment. I prefer Twizzlers because that’s what I’ve grown up on, but you go with your own favourite brands. I’ve heard the Red Vines are popular in the states, correct me on that if I’m wrong. And it doesn’t have to be just one kind. I like the strawberry, but there’s the original black licorice, and there’s new fruity licorice too with a bunch of different flavours to keep things interesting. You can even match them up to the different scenes your writing.
5. Chips
   
   I wanted to have at least one savoury item on this list, and I somehow made it. I honestly prefer chips(or crisps if you’re across the pond) when I’m editing or researching. Reading through, nibbling on chips, and punching in the smaller edits or fixing a line. Or delving deep into the history and equipment of blacksmithing. I don’t go too heavy on seasonings though, either just plain salt or a sour cream and onion flavour. Something like Doritos or cheezies would just get messy to me, but if you feel you can deal with the mess more power to you. I can’t. They’re fun, their crunch is satisfying, the only downside is they can get a little messy. But when I’m crunching on golden deliciousness I don’t overly care too much.

So that is all I have for you today. If you enjoy any of these snacks when writing or reading, drop a comment and let me know. And what are some of your favourite snacks when writing? I’d love to hear if you’d like to share.

I hope you’re having a great day, and I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

Day 17: My Favourite Halloween Memory

I’m sure everyone has fond memories of Halloween, whether it’s getting the candy, or making your costumes in preparation of, or a Halloween party you attended that you really liked. What have you.

This is actually kind of difficult for me because, despite my love of Halloween, there aren’t a lot of big events that I’ve had in my life so far that have occurred on Halloween or revolved around Halloween.

So, grab yourself a drink and a snack, get ready for story time.

It was Halloween night, I was fifteen, and I was over at my friend Dee’s house because she was having a little Halloween get together. It was her, her boyfriend, and myself. Non of us had put a lot, if any, work into our costumes because, despite our love of Halloween, we were lazy. She lived on some property out in the country, so we were allowed to have a little bonfire.

So, we were just hanging out, eating candy, hanging around the fire. And then Dee’s dad comes out and we start talking with him, and he says how he always loves to drive around and look at the decorated houses. And, he went on to say that he had a friend in a neighboring town that always went above and beyond with his decorations. So, we all piled into a car and drove over there. We stopped on the way for Timmy’s(Tim Horton’s, it’s a really big coffee/doughnut chain here in Canada that serves a lot more than just coffee and doughnuts), and Dee’s dad bought us all a treat.

Then we went driving around this little residential area where kids were trick-or-treating, we got to see all the nicely decorated houses, talk about some of the things that they(Dee’s dad and his friend) would do as kids on Halloween(Scaring younger kids for their candy anyone?). We really didn’t do all that much, but it was just really nice and fun. And, it’s just something that I’ve kept with me and I really, really liked.

I’m 20 years old now, so that was about five years ago and it still stuck with me. So, in recent memory I think that’s my favourite Halloween memory. Sorry that wasn’t very detailed, but those are really the big parts of the night that stood out to me the most and I don’t want to bore everyone with details. What’s yours? Tell me in the comments.

Brief as it is, that’s all I have for you today. Thank you so much for joining me for day 17 of my October Blogging Challenge, which is where I post a fall or Halloween themed post everyday for the month of October. If you liked what you read, you can come back tomorrow and see what I have for you then. Or, if it’s after the 31st, then you have all the posts to go through if you want.

Thank you again, I hope you are having a great day/afternoon/evening/night, and I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

Day 13: Least Favourite Seasonal Treat

I already talked about my favourite fall recipes, and when I was thinking about what I was going to write for this post, the original concept was ‘favourite seasonal treat’, I realized I kinda already did that and it would seem redundant to just cut and paste like that.

So, because I play both ways, I’m going to talk about some of the worst treats that come along in October.

1. Candy Corn

I know I’m not the only one who has had this iconic candy, and doesn’t like it. If you do, more power to you. But this is my list.

Candy corn always meant that Halloween was right around the corner, and I doubt I could go a single year without seeing it. But that doesn’t mean I like it. The colours are beautiful and scream fall and Halloween, but it just tastes gross to me. And I don’t like the texture.

It’s a great decoration, but I don’t want to eat it.

2. Rockets

If you’re in America, I think you call these Smarties. But where I live Smarties are something else, we call these rockets.

I don’t like rockets. They’re chalky and don’t have a lot of flavour to them. I was fine with getting these while I was a kid because, even though I didn’t like them, my mom does. So my siblings and I, as we were sorting and trading our candy, would give most of these to our mom. At least I think I did. I don’t remember if my siblings liked these, but I don’t.

They aren’t so much a staple of Halloween like Candy corn is, because we can get rockets year round here. But they always at least look fun to me.

3. Rainbow Lollipops?

I’ll be honest, I don’t now exactly what these are called. To find this picture I had to search up white and coloured lollipops.

I don’t like these things. I’m not a big fan of lollipops, or suckers as my family at least calls them, but my preference lays with cherry and grape flavoured ones. Maybe I’m weird and you like these things.

From my recollection, they don’t have that great a flavour, and their texture is almost milky as opposed to hard candy-y.

I’d rather get chocolate than suckers any day.

4. Witch Kisses

These are also called molasses kisses, or molasses toffee if I’m correct.

Basically I don’t like these because of the deception. You look at these and they scream Halloween. You unwrap them, and you think ‘Oooh! Toffee! Or a caramel!’. And then you take a bite, and it’s molasses. And year after year, I remember getting deceived by the colourful wrappers and the promise of chocolate or caramel.

I like molasses, in gingerbread, or gingersnaps. Not my candy.

Now, unlike the rest of these, I can actually understand why someone would like these candies. My mom loves them, and that’s because when she was a kid they would make them. And they were a very special treat for her that she didn’t get very often. So, it kinda brings good childhood memories to her, which makes me happy too.

Did you like any of these candies that I don’t and think I’m wrong? Are there other candies or treats that come out in the fall/around Halloween that you don’t like? Let me know in the comments, and we can talk about them.

That you so much for joining me for day 13 of my October 2018 Blogger Challenge, where I post a fall or Halloween themed post everyday for the month of October. If you liked what you saw here, feel free to come back tomorrow and see what I have for you then. I promise it won’t be a negative post. Or, if it’s after the 31st, you can check out all the posts that I have up.

Thank you so much for joining me, I hope you have a great day/afternoon/evening/night, and I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.