Dear Santa, I Really Need a New Laptop and a Few Other Things This Year…

Dear Santa,

Yeah, I’m like 30 years too old to probably have this letter approved, but, seriously, I broke my laptop’s keyboard last year and still haven’t gotten it fixed (Ok, Ok, sure, I got a new keyboard to plug in, but underneath that neon-lit keyboard is a keyboard that still can’t type the letter “m”).

I need a little help here fella.

So, let’s keep this real. No genie in the bottle stuff, no big and fancy houses or cars or bling bling. Just some good old-fashioned quality tech and a few gadgets with a side helping of awesome books, courses, and odds and ends from Amazon’s suggested items. Kick back some eggnog and let’s get these reindeer rollin’ yo!

(Did Rudolph just toot? Ain’t just his nose that’s glowing tonight, dayum!)

Look, I get it, inflation has made the price of milk and cookies go up a ho-ho-ho lot, so maybe you want a few budget idea surprises for me and other writers?

You can’t ever go wrong with a good book for a writer. Legit. And I’ve read some pretty awesome ones over the years. Now, I know, my shelves are a little full and you might be thinking I don’t need a single book until I get that massive “to-be-read” stack down. Buuuuut, come on…have a little holiday spirit!

So, here are a few books I’d love for you to pack in that awesome sleigh of yours:

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear
2. Write Useful Books by Rob Fitzpatrick
3. The Minimalist Entrepreneur by Sahil Lavingia
4. Hooked by Nir Eyal

And here are some ideas for other writers from the things I’ve (actually) read and finished and think are pretty kicka…butt:

1. On Writing by Stephen King
2. Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
3. The Art and Business of Online Writing by Nicolas Cole
4. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
5. In the Palm of Your Hand by Steve Kowit
6. Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

What does Christmas and amazing courses have in common besides the fact that they both have the letter “C” in their names? That’s right, presents!

Courses make amazing surprises, the good ones keep on giving long after they’ve been taken. If you get the right one, you get a ton of rock-solid experience packed into a short to mid-length time period and you learn new skills to take all of your writing experience to the next level.

Here are some I took this year that make an awesome surprise for the writers on your list:

1. Ship30for30 by Nicolas Cole and Dickie Bush
2. CopywritingCourse.com by Neville Medhora
3. Anything by Tim Denning and Todd Bryson
4. Filmmaking & Storytelling on Monthly.com by Casey Neistat
5. Masterclass…they have a lot of great classes all about the arts, creativity, and writing (Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwoood, and R.L. Stein are on there!)

Let’s get a little fancier, because what writer doesn’t need some tech in their toolbox?

Real talk, writers need reliable tools, tech and apps to put a jolly old boot to the…backside…of that ever blinking blank page. So, to help us get the job done, here are a few quick ideas for techie gifts for the writers on your list.

1. Readwise, because this tool is one of my most essential for creating content. How about an annual subscription in my stocking?
2. Audible, how about a year long surprise of new audible books? Combine this with a Kindle Unlimited Subscription or a stack of matching kindle books (I really enjoy reading along as Audible reads to me) and this writer is one happy writer.
3. Kindle, because writers are readers (or they should be) and sometimes that bookshelf really can’t hold another physical book without collapsing and taking half the wall with it (this hasn’t happened to me…yet).
4. Roam Research, for all those note-taking needs we writers always have.
5. Spotify (or for other writers on your list, Itunes), because Music feeds writing…and so do all of the podcasts and quirky finds.
6. Noise Cancelling headphones (The details are custom to each writer, but me, I like mine over the ear, nicely padded and able to rattle my brains around a little).

Let’s get a little fancier now:

1. Nice new monitor, or a dual monitor setup. Give a gift to a writers eyes and give us an awesome big screen display.
2. New Office chair…or, better (maybe) a standup desk. Help us make those pesky but essential healthy decisions with a little less resistance.
3. Smartphone (These are basically tiny computers and they help keep the fingers typing on the go)
4. Laptop…yeah, I said it. Hey, if you got the extra simoleons and really want to do something awesome for the writers on your list, go all out on an amazing base of operations. But, but, buuut, bring the writer in on this surprise. We’re a picky lot and no two writers ever want the exact same specs. (Me, I want something powerful enough to turn all my articles, stories and poems into even more, and I need the extra oomph of a next level piece of technology to help me create the visual content all of these things require).

And if all else fails…

…Money.

It’s clean, efficient, simple, and lets the writer in your life get those little things they’ve been needing, wanting, and hoping for on their own. You can do the old fashioned money in an envelop routine OR you can spice it up and make it 21st century awesome and buy them some Crypto. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

There you have it, a few ideas for me, a few ideas for writers in general. I basically just made your job like a whole lot easier. Also, you can never go wrong with journals, ink pens, stationery, post-it notes, and all of that awesomeness in the stocking. A not-so-subtle hint.

Thanks a ton Santa,

Gregory D. Welch

P.S. —

I’ll leave you a six pack with a side of chips and salsa under the tree this year (OK, there’ll be a couple missing but dealing with people AND the holidays at the same time is tough, alright?)