10 Gifts That Writers Will Love (From A Writer’s Perspective)

Have you ever gone window shopping and wished that you could have certain items?

Well, I do. There are times when I think to myself, ‘If I have this, it’ll certainly help me to be more productive in writing.’

Hence, I’ve decided to create a list of gifts that writers will love. Rather than unique or interesting gifts, I’ll be compiling a list of practical gifts that are useful. As a writer myself, I’ll also show you how they can be helpful to both aspiring authors and budding writers.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. I will earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase through these links. Your support encourages me to continue blogging and help with the costs of hosting this site. Thank you!

Notebook

A notebook, whether physical or digital, is essential to a writer.

In fact, a writer can have a few writing notebooks! Just like how I own a dozen physical notebooks and one hundred notes in Evernote 😛

Why do we have so many notebooks?

That’s a good question. We have numerous notebooks because each notebook serves a different purpose.

• Writing Tips: interesting words and phrases, tips on characterization and worldbuilding etc.
• Ideas: story/setting/character/world ideas, potential plots etc.
• Miscellaneous: anything & everything (eg. I’m noting down the injuries of major characters on scrap paper so that I’ll remember these wounds when writing the scene)

Source: OldEnglishCo via Etsy

Calendar

A calendar or monthly planner would be useful for writers where they can note down their goals, deadlines, milestones and important events.

This is especially important for organized writers or plotters who rely on schedules to stay on track.

In fact, I added more details to my monthly calendar this year. In the past, I used to keep it minimalist. Hence, it was mostly empty since there were only a few milestones. However, I decided to add a habit tracker recently and the visual progress is just amazing! I’m pretty sure most writers will find this encouraging and motivational~

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Stickers

You can consider buying stickers for your writer friend so they can decorate their notebook and calendar.

Etsy, for instance, has stickers designed specifically for writers.

• Word Count
• NaNoWriMo
• Deadline
• To Do
• Plot
• Brainstorm
• Outline
• Write
• Revise
• Edit

At a glance, these stickers will show what your writer friend has done for the day. It creates a sense of accomplishment because it shows that they’ve used the time effectively.

These stickers can also be used to plan their time ahead. For example, writers can use them to time block their weekends solely for brainstorming, plotting, researching and outlining. These are all important stages as they help to build a strong foundation for the book.

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Writing Templates & Printables

Being a writer is not simply about writing well. It also includes creating likable characters and believable worlds.

This is when writing templates and printables come in.

They help writers plan their book. These documents will also be frequently referred to when we write our book.

Take me for example. I always keep two windows open side by side: 1) manuscript and 2) writing template. The writing template also switches frequently depending on which information I need when writing my story, including novel plotting, character profile, worldbuilding note.

As a writer myself, I have a few novel writing templates in Evernote. Likewise, you can point your writer friend to Evernote’s Creative Writing Templates. Or you could even print them out for your writer friend.

There are writing templates and printables on Etsy too. You can gift these to your writer friend or simply download and print them for your friend.

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Mug

If you go to cafés, you’ll probably notice a few writers typing their manuscripts as they drink coffee. Their Instagram feed is also likely to be filled with photos of their laptop, writing desk and a mug of coffee.

Writers love coffee because caffeine perks us up. If the mug has a motivational or inspirational quote, it’ll encourage us as we write our manuscript. This could also be a habit cue that triggers us to write.

If you buy a coffee mug for your writer friend, do remind him or her to be careful. I accidentally spilled coffee on my laptop before… Luckily, my laptop is still working fine and nothing happened to my manuscript. But I’m forbidden to drink coffee at my desk now ><;;

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Hand Warmers & Gloves

Hands are important for writers as well as many professions.

During winter or cold rainy days, wearing a hand warmer or glove can help to keep your hands warm so you can continue writing.

This is a thoughtful gift for a writer friend. Besides showing that you care about their well-being, it also warms their heart.

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Door Sign & Hanger

As a writer myself, I totally understand that writing time is precious.

But my friends and family don’t really know this. In fact, there are times when my family knocked on my door to ask me questions or do certain tasks when I’ve clearly closed the door to signal that I’m writing *sighs*

Due to this, I’ve always wanted to get a ‘Do Not Disturb door’ sign or hanger to show everyone that I’m busy.

This would be the perfect gift for a writer as it acts as a warning and deters people from disturbing them.

Source: BearAndBlue via Etsy

Proofreading Software: Grammarly & ProWritingAid

One important stage in the writing process is editing.

I’m sure all writers would self-edit their manuscript with tools like Grammarly and ProWritingAid to double-check and correct their grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes.

However, these tools go beyond that. With a paid subscription, your writer friend can get access to better features. Gifting them a one-month paid subscription would be a great way to show your support~

Grammarly identifies mistakes as you craft an email or write a blog post. The AI-powered tool also has a Tone Detector feature that checks the tone of your message before you hit send.

ProWritingAid offers many in-depth reports that check your writing style, clichés and redundancies, overused words, readability, sentence length, pacing, dialogue tags and more.

Writing Software: Scrivener & Microsoft Word

Whether you’re a fiction or non-fiction writer, blogger or journalist, using the right writing software is crucial. The right software will help you in your writing journey and polish your manuscript.

There are many writing software that you can gift your friend, including Scrivener and Microsoft Word. Such writing software would be valuable because each feature is designed with the writer in mind.

Here are some features of Scrivener

• Break your text into manageable sections so you can rearrange them
• Open your research right next to your work
• Compile everything into a novel or screenplay
• Set word or character targets and track your progress
• Save the current version before rewriting (and use ‘compare’ to find out what you changed)

Although this is a great gift for a writer, I strongly suggest that you check with your friend first. Every writer is unique and they have their own way of writing. Some writers might value certain features more than others while some writers might prefer software that they’re familiar with. In addition, some software is not a one-time purchase but a monthly subscription. You might have to check with your writer friend if they’re okay with this recurring cost.

The worse outcome would be you gifting a writing software which they don’t use… (and I don’t think anyone wants that.)

Services: Fiverr

Publishing a book is not only about writing a wonderful draft. There are also other tasks like

• Formatting the manuscript
• Designing a book cover
• Writing a compelling blurb
• Marketing & promoting the book

While some tasks can be done by the writers themselves (especially if your friend is an indie author who self-publishes their books like me), some tasks can only be done by professionals.

For instance, I crafted my own book blurb and formatted the manuscript myself. However, I hired a professional to design my book cover.

You can show your support by paying for or even offering these services. One of the greatest gifts I received was a logo design service at Fiverr from my best friend ❤️ It’s very meaningful and it feels like I’m not alone in this writing journey. That I’m walking together with a supportive friend in this arduous journey~

Photo by uroburos on Pixabay

Now It’s Your Turn

In addition to the list of gifts I’ve come up with, what other gifts have you considered getting for your writer friend?