Gift Ideas for the Writer in Your Life

by Lisa Binion

Do you have a friend or loved one who is a writer? Having problems deciding what to get for his or her birthday or Christmas? You can always buy them writing books, reference books, or books by their favorite author. Or you could give them something that would inspire their writing and put their creative minds to work.

A gift that would be low cost, appreciated and useful for anyone who writes is a journal in a jar. To make a journal in a jar, first you need a large jar with a lid. Next, come up with 365 questions about the person’s life, one for each day of the year. Some suggested questions are at the end of this article.

Write or type out each question on a small piece of paper. When you have a question for each day of the year written out, fold them in half and put them all in the jar. Put the lid on it and tie with a ribbon.

Include some instructions with the journal in a jar - "Take out 1 piece of paper each day and either answer the question about your own life or base a story on the question. At the end of a year, you’ll either have enough material to write your own life story or you’ll have written 365 short stories."

Of course, you can change theme of “journal in a jar” to anything you believe the writer would enjoy. You can ask 365 questions about any subject underneath the sun, or combine questions on several different areas that the individual is interested in.

Examples of questions to ask about someone’s life.
1. Was your name chosen for you because it had some special meaning to your parents?
2. What music groups were popular during your teenage years?
3. How did you meet your first boyfriend or girlfriend?
4. What was the political climate like in the world when you were born?
5. What is the one thing you could not possibly live without?

Tell the name for each of the following fears.
1. A fear of atomic explosions.
2. A fear of belly buttons.
3. A fear of the number eight.
4. A fear of frogs.
5. A fear of writing.

Yes, those are actual phobias. You can do an internet search and find the names for hundreds of these irrational fears.

You could also give them a writing prompt for each day of the year. There are several places on the web where you can find good writing prompts. Or you could always write them out yourself. Instead of putting these in a jar, you could print them out on paper and give the prompts with an attractive notebook and pen.

Examples of writing prompts.
1. After a hard day at work, Mary arrives home and finds something in her house that shouldn’t be there. What is it and how did it get there?
2. The king’s mistress gives birth to twins. Scared that the king will find out, she sends one of them to be raised by a couple in the village. Why doesn’t she want the king to find out she had twins?
3. Clarissa buys a coat during the summer at a yard sale, but doesn’t wear it until winter. When she first puts it on and sticks her hands in the pockets, she finds a small pouch of diamonds. How did they end up in the coat?
4. Barry and Melissa have just moved to a new neighborhood with their family. Their first night in the new house, they are kept awake by strange noises coming from the underneath their beds. What is making the noises?
5. Old Mrs. Murphy loves animals. She has a whole menagerie of animals that she cares for. A curmudgeon has moved into the house next door to Mrs. Murphy and believes that the neighborhood would be better off, at least for him, if the animals were sent away. Can Mrs. Murphy teach her neighbor to love her pets as much as she does or will she have to get rid of them?

Unless you give the writer a notebook and pen to go with the journal in a jar, the gift costs only your time and effort. This is a gift that would be used and appreciated.

There are many variations of the gift you could come up with yourself. Have fun with it and adapt it to something the writer in your life would truly enjoy. Merry Christmas and happy New Year!