A Look Inside My Author Toolbox
It's almost Christmas, so I wanted to share some of the cool stuff I've picked up recently that would make a great gift for that writer in your life!
The Write-Brain Workbook:
Banish the Blank Page with Hundreds of Unique Writing Exercises!
If you're battling writer's block, or if you're just looking for ways to flex your creative writing muscles, The Write-Brain Workbook Revised & Expanded will ensure that you never face another wordless day. This massive tome is brimming with 400 stimulating writing prompts--plus 400 supplemental exercises to take your creative work even further--each on its own beautifully designed, full-color page, providing plenty of room to write and explore. You'll create quirky characters, discover fresh twists on classic word games, sample new forms, and generate scores of ideas for short stories, poems, articles, and even novels. Write, scrawl, scribble, and dream on each page--the possibilities are endless!
The Write-Brain Workbook will help you:
Write without the pressure of preconceived expectations.
Tailor your unique writing process.
Build the momentum of a quick, daily writing practice.
Apply the breakthroughs from your daily practice to your "real" writing.
Expand how you see yourself as a writer.
Experiment with different ways to approach writing.
Affirm your commitment to being a writer.
Jam-packed with exercises you can return to again and again and vibrant, creativity-jolting illustrations, The Write-Brain Workbook is bigger and better than ever. Whether you want to revel in the pure joy of writing or are just getting started, this workbook gives you the means to hone your writing skills, conquer writer's block, and have fun in the process!
This book is great! It has a gazillion and one writing prompts and exercises and is perfect to get the creative juices flowing! I've considered not actually writing in the book and just using it as a guide to write on my computer so that I can reuse the prompts! Highly recommend this book!
Read, Set, NOVEL!:
This writer's block-busting workbook guides authors through planning and plotting a novel before writing it from the initial idea generation and brainstorming through character, setting, and story development. Full of helpful lists, plot maps, character Q&As, field trips, writing exercises, inspiring quotes, and plenty of space to write and outline, Ready, Set, Novel! provides ample inspiration and guidance to first-time novelists and more seasoned scribes alike.
This book I actually bought right before NaNoWriMo started this year. I didn't get a chance to use it, but I'm very much looking forward to using it in the future. Unlike The Write-Brain, it helps you focus on aspects of your particular story; who are your characters, what are they like, what do they like to do, what is the plot of your story, how can you move it along, etc. I find this VERY helpful when trying to flush out an idea. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has a shard of a story and needs to turn it into a whole piece!
Rocketbook PLANtastic Gift Bundle:
The PLANtastic Gift Bundle is the perfect set of tools to set, monitor, and achieve your goals. Utilize the monthly, weekly, and daily planning pages for all your personal and professional needs. Then, scan and erase with your handy mini spray bottle to use again. With 12 different page-types in the Rocketbook Panda Planner and the sleek, stylish look of the Capsule, you can feel confident as you boost productivity and increase your happiness.
And last, but certainly not least, is the Rocketbook PLANtastic gift bundle. I ordered this for myself at the end of November and it has truly been revolutionary. The cool thing about Rocketbooks is that they are reusable! Simply spray the page with water and use the included microfiber cloth to wipe away the ink and start again! Rocketbook also comes with a cool, free app that allows you to scan the pages and upload them to a cloud service of your choice (Trello, OneNote, and many more). Instead of having a thousand planners lying around year after year, instead you have one that can be used over and over and the files can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection!
If you're still shopping for the writer in your life, you can't go wrong with any of these. And with that, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
