A Novel Approach (To Me)

Do you know someone who wants to be a novelist? If so, here are my top 5 picks for gifts to give to that aspiring writer:

1. A small Moleskine notebook: a budding writer NEEDS to have a small notebook with them at all times to jot down thoughts, ideas, and notes of all sorts.  These are the fodder for characters and stories.  Moleskine is the classic and known by most writers, but any journal or notebook that will fit in a purse or bag will do.
2. A flash drive and a subcription to Dropbox (or some other online storage utility).  Every novel needs to be saved in at least three places in case of disaster.  Any author will tell you that their biggest fear is that they’ll loose their work.
3. A writing program for their computer (or a case of writing pads if they don’t like to write on the computer).  I prefer Scrivener but there are plenty of others that exist if you google it.  Writing doesn’t need to be complicated. Word (for Windows) or Pages (for Mac) are solid word processing programs that will work.  However, what a writing app or program can do is to simplify the formatting process for when they are ready to submit their novel. I like Scrivener because it has some simple functionality that allows me to write in scenes and chapters (making relevant “notes in the margins” if I need to.  It also allows me to dump the scenes onto a virtual corkboard and move them around.  This has come in very handy in the past.  It also allows the writer to open up a full screen window while typing that eliminates all other distractions.  You might be surprised at how helpful this is.
4. A good book about the craft of writing.  You can find a few of my recommendations here.  I’d also add Margaret Atwood’s Negotiating With The Dead to that list.
5. A subscription to the local gym. Not only will they need the social interaction to stay human while they are locked up trying to finish their novel, but they need a strong body to combat the aches and pains of being hunched over their novel for long hours trying to complete it.