All I Want for Christmas (A writers' wish list)

All I Want for Christmas
by
Diana Rowe Martinez

Our creative souls are fairly bursting at the seams this time of the year. There is never enough time to do all the writing we want (or feel we should) do. Now we mix in family get-togethers, shopping and --gulp-- cooking!

But wait, can't this be just a little bit about us? Why not this year actually receive what you want instead of a gift that your family wants?

Fellow HODRW members to the rescue. I've surveyed the writing masses and here's a WRITERS GIFT LIST you can put underneath the nose of those you love.

· Electric 3-hole puncher
· Paper shredder
· Complete National Geographic years (110 years) on CD-ROM
· Gift certificate to any of the major bookstores
· Gift certificate to Office Depot
· Dictionary stand
· Thesaurus--one of the biggest and most comprehensive
· Anything from Levengers catalog for readers and writers
· Gifts from Levengers include: Page points to mark the page, tilting foot rest
· Contact info 1-800-544-0880, web site Levenger.com
· The new book--Stephen King on Writing
· Case of printer paper
· Hands free phone headset
· E-book reader
· File cabinet
· A day with Bunky Lundsberg, the professional organizer
· Laptop carrier with wheels and pull handle
· New laptop or computer (for those that really love us!)

Stocking stuffer ideas:
· Highlighters
· Pop-up Post-it dispenser
· Sticky notes
· Binder clips
· Flags
· Super size paper clips
· Cool little spiral notebooks to write "stuff" in
· Nifty, smooth-writing pen like a Montblanc or a Waterman.
· Disks
· Candles
· Chocolate

If money is tight for your loved ones, how about "coupon gift certificates" from the heart? These coupons offer special services around the house performed by the loved one. Coupons can be enclosed in a card or stuffed in a stocking. They can be beautifully designed by the computer or handwritten on a card. The best part is that the writer (you!) WRITES while some of these household chores are magically done.

Here are some suggestions:

· A complete dinner cooked--how about by candlelight after a full day of writing?
· A thorough house cleaning--and if that's too ambitious for your sweeties, how about cleaning either the bathroom or the kitchen?
· Laundry--Am I the only one that hates folding clothes?
· Dusting--There's something to be said for writing on the desk, although I'm not sure what.

And the very best gift of all would be a writer vacation. A getaway, by yourself, to simply focus on your writing and write. This could be one day, one night, or one week. You could getaway to the hotel down the street, downtown, in the mountains or somewhere exotic. A productive writing day(s) or week tapping away at those computer pages, writing hundreds of pages like you were born to write. But can you even imagine what I might be like to later that same evening, a glass of wine in one hand, and a romance in the other, luxuriating in a bubble bath without hearing the pitter-patter of little feet followed by "Mommy?" Heaven never looked this good.

But whatever gift you receive this holiday, the most precious gift anyone that loves you can give you is these simple words, "The so-and-so publisher called. Your book is on the New York Times Bestseller list and he/she wants to offer you a three figure advance."

Of course, that's when we wake up and the holidays are behind us, but the dreams don't have to be. Make the best of what you have. Be thankful for all your loved ones. Make it a special holiday for them, and then just maybe if you leave this part of the newsletter open near the T.V. guide, your hubby might pick it up and actually get the hint this year.

Diana Rowe Martinez, a freelance writer with a dream, might be found at Kinkos making copies of this article to leave laying around throughout the house.