Last month a reader posted on my facebook page that their
8-year-old daughter wanted a “writing set” for Christmas this year, and asked
me: “What does every budding author need in their ‘set’?”
Of course, “need” is a relative term. All you actually need
as a writer, at 8 years old or 80, is a story in your heart and mind and some
means of recording that in words, so you can share it with your listeners and
readers.
But I loved the idea of putting together a “writing set”,
especially one for a young “budding author” who’s already starting her life as
a writer with one of the most vital things in her toolbox: a parent’s support.
So I thought back to what I was given, when I was around
that age, that made me feel like a real writer. And I thought of what I use in
my everyday “writing set” now. And I blended those together in this list of my
suggestions:
1. A SPECIAL BOOK FOR
WRITING IN
The brown one here was mine, when I was 12. I still remember
picking it out at our local Coles Bookstore. There’s something about that
old-fashioned-gilded-leather look and the lovely blank pages inside that makes
you feel like a true storyteller.
2. A POCKET NOTEBOOK
I always have one with me. In my case, they range from
little notepads scooped up from a hotel bedside table to those little
spiral-bound notebooks you can buy in packs of three from a drugstore to the
fancier little Moleskine versions, like the red one here that was my primary
notebook for my research travels for my book The Firebird.
3. A BLANKET
Indispensable. Sitting in one place for hours, especially
during late nights, early mornings, and winter, gets chilly. If you can’t find
a blanket, a cozy cardigan will do, like the beige one my notebooks are sitting
on in the above photo. It was a castoff of my father’s, and has kept me warm
through many a writing session.
4. A SPECIAL PEN
For one of my childhood birthdays, my parents gave me a silver-toned
pencil-and-pen set. It came in a box, and was beautiful. And best of all, they
had taken it to the engraving kiosk at the mall, so both the pen and pencil
were engraved with my initials. If you
have a young (or even not-so-young) writer on your Christmas list, this is one
gift that’s sure to make them feel like an actual writer. I suggested to my
reader that, for her daughter, she might want to engrave not only her daughter’s
name, but the word “Writer” after it.
5. A SPECIAL CUP OR
MUG
Eight years old is a little young for coffee, but hot
chocolate can fuel the writing muse equally as well! My own preferred writing
mugs tend to change to subtly match the subject of the book I’m writing—I ended
up using my tartan one a lot while I was working on A Desperate Fortune, and
back when I was writing The Rose Garden my favourite mug was floral—and I have
a special Motivating Mug (pictured here) that I use when I’m approaching deadlines.
6. WRITTEN
INSPIRATION
If there’s a single book that’s helped me more than any
other on my journey as a writer, it’s been Phyllis A. Whitney’s GUIDE TO FICTION WRITING. As a practical guide for working your way through that first
novel (and keeping your focus through later ones), it’s invaluable. But for an
8-year-old, you might want to start with a few Writer’s Digest magazines.
Around this time of year, WD also puts out a special edition Yearbook filed
with all sorts of tips and advice. Just remember, there’s no one “right” way to
write—don’t take anything as gospel. My favourite writing books are the ones
containing many different articles by a wide variety of well-published writers,
because I can almost always learn something useful from a few of them, and as
my skills and needs develop and change other articles within those books become
relevant.
7. A LAP DESK
For my 8-year-old self this would have been the icing on the
cake! I loved staying in bed all day and writing as it was, but to be able to
do it comfortably and without having to change position every five minutes
would have been wonderful. This is the kind of thing I mean—the ones with the
beanbag bottom and the hard top. Some, like this one from Chapters/Indigo, even come complete with a cup holder so
you have a place to put your Special Mug.
