{"id":7704,"date":"2016-12-04T07:02:43","date_gmt":"2016-12-04T07:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/?p=7704"},"modified":"2016-12-04T07:02:43","modified_gmt":"2016-12-04T07:02:43","slug":"ideas-for-pressies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/uncategorised\/ideas-for-pressies\/","title":{"rendered":"Ideas for pressies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Books
Books generally are great – but I have a special love for old and antique books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s officially December and you know what that means\u2026 Christmas shopping.<\/p>\n

Most of us spend at least some of this month scratching our heads as we try to come up with just the right gift.<\/p>\n

So I thought I might put forward a few suggestions for the writer in your life\u2014gifts for writers are just so easy.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the obvious. Books. Writers are readers too. Books are always a great gift idea\u2026 and you can make them a little special.<\/p>\n

Try for a rare or first edition book by a favourite author. Or go for a signed book. Something a little out of the ordinary.<\/p>\n

There are also books about writing \u2013 my personal favourite is On Writing by Stephen King \u2013 but there are a quite few very good ones out there, depending on the writer you are buying for.<\/p>\n

Another favourite \u2013 stationery. What was that you said? Boring? No way. Stationery can be fun. I\u2019m not talking about printer paper, I\u2019m talking about brightly coloured and funny shaped post it notes.<\/p>\n

\"You
You can get giant post-it notes to stick on the wall – great for plotting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Did you know you can get whiteboard paper that your can you stick on the wall and turn it into a giant white board? They are great for plotting too.<\/p>\n

Notebooks can be fun \u2013 there are such lovely ones out there \u2013 but a word of caution. Some people get a bit fussy about their notebooks, so make sure you buy the right type. Have a look at the notebooks the writer in your life uses.<\/p>\n

And of course let\u2019s not forget pens. Really, really nice ones. A pen that makes signing a book for a reader an extra special experience.<\/p>\n

\"A
A beautiful pen makes signing a book even more wonderful.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I once got given a desk as a present \u2013 that was a pretty good idea. I got to choose the desk \u2013 and I am still writing on it.<\/p>\n

All these are good presents \u2013 but the best present of all is\u2026 time.<\/p>\n

\"The
The thing we all want most of all – more time to write.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you want to help and support a writer, giving the gift of time is just the ticket. It can take many different forms. Just say \u2013 today I\u2019ll do the chores or walk the dog or cook the dinner while you take the time to write. Try taking the kids out for the day, leaving the writer free to just write. And the good thing about time given in this way \u2013 it\u2019d not expensive.<\/p>\n

If you have the resources, there is another way to give writing time. Send your writer on a course, or a retreat. There they can focus on their writing with other like mined souls.<\/p>\n

Ok \u2013 so here\u2019s the shameless promotion part\u2026 Twice a year, I am one of two tutors leading a weekend retreat near Stratford Upon Avon \u2013 Yep. Shakespeare country. This is the sort of thing I’m talking about when I suggest giving the writer in your life time to write.<\/p>\n

You can find our more about the retreat here<\/a>\u2026.<\/p>\n

If a full weekend is not right for you, think about a one day course, or a manuscript appraisal… something to help a writer achieve their dreams.<\/p>\n

I like very personal gifts. I spend a lot of time shopping to get just the right thing for the people in my life\u2026 and while at first glance the gifts I\u2019ve suggested might not seem personal \u2013 but they are things that will help a writer achieve a dream. What could be more personal than that?<\/p>\n

Good luck with the Christmas shopping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s officially December and you know what that means\u2026 Christmas shopping. Most of us spend at least some of this month scratching our heads as we try to come up with just…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7704\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}