Holiday Gifts for Writers 2005

Kristen King

by Sarah E. White

www.inkthinkerblog.com — It’s the holiday season once again, and whether you’re looking for gifts for your writer friends or wanting to fill out your own wish list, odds are you could use a few ideas. Here are some of my favorite gifts for writers and others, for the holidays and beyond.

Lighted Pen

Writers (and those who live with writers) will appreciate a gift that allows them to scribble down the brilliant thoughts that come to them in the middle of the night without the inconvenience of turning on a light. The Lighted Gravity Pen ($25.00) from Brookstone features an LED light that is activated simply by pressing the top of the pen. This pen also has magnets in it so the pen seems to float in its included base, which both looks cool and makes it easy to find in the dark. As a bonus, this pen includes the three button cell batteries it needs and has five refills, so you can keep writing in the dark for a long time.

Washable Keyboard

We all know why we shouldn’t eat at our desks. It’s bad for our work, bad for our digestion, and worst of all gets crumbs and grease all over our keyboards. But now you can get a wireless keyboard that claims to be dust-free (and, presumably, crumb-free) and that you can wash under the tap or spray with cleanser. The SpillSeal washable keyboard ($74.99) from Unotron is marketed as a great tool for hospitals, where errant germs could collect on computer equipment. But I think it’s brilliant for writers and others who spend a little too much time eating at their computers. It’s a fully functioning wireless keyboard with programmable multimedia keys and a removable wrist rest for those long hours of composing.

Digital Recorder

There are all sorts of cool digital voice recorders on the market these days in just about every price range. You can find recorders with removable memory, ones that will record telephone conversations (always check with the person you’re talking to before you record), take pictures, ones with voice-recognition software so you can transcribe your interviews automatically, machines with voice-activated recording or that can record more than 24 hours. For an idea of the range of models out there, check out the Olympus Web site .Even if you or your writer friend don’t do a lot of interviewing, a digital recorder is great for recording thoughts while you’re driving, cooking, or somewhere else you might not have paper handy.

A Christmas Story

If you’re buying specifically for Christmas, consider the tiny, inexpensive and totally adorable A Visit From St. Alphabet by Dave Morice ($9.95), published by Coffee House Press. This whimsical little book is a retelling of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” with the alphabet as the star (it’s not really a Christmas story any more). A sampling: “‘Twas the night before X, when all through the Y / Not a letter was stirring, not even an I; / The S’s were hung by the T with care / In the hopes that St. Alphabet soon would be there.” This is a writer’s Santa, magically filling on the blank pages and wishing “Happy Alphabet to all, and to all a good write!”

And may I wish the same to you, whatever winter holidays you celebrate!

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Sarah E. White is a freelance writer, editor, and creativity coach. Her home on the Web is http://www.sarahewhite.com. Contact her at sarah@sarahewhite.com.

Although this article was published by Kristen King, the original author retains all copyright and should be contacted for reprint requests.