I’m not one on things nor shopping, but tools … I LOVE tools!
By tools I mean useful things, items needed to build, create, and refine. And for writing, there are so many out there. Actually, probably too many. If you are looking to improve your grammar, you can spend hours debating books versus editing programs or taking a course.
So I thought I’d offer a roundup of things I’ve found useful and would recommend. And what better day to give it to you than Black Friday when most have a discount! So whether you are shopping for a writer in your life or just want to make sure you get what you want for the holidays, be sure to check these out!
What You'll Learn
Editing Programs
I use it directly in Google Drive, which works brilliantly. I knew there was a way to use it in Word as well, but I didn’t realize until I was writing this that they expanded that to Open Office AND Scrivener. I write in Scrivener! 😀
Today they are selling a lifetime license for half off, which is only $70! That is less than one year of Grammarly Premium (by half!).
Grab the discount here.
Writing Books
The old standby is writing books that will help improve the craft. There are soooo many books on writing! I’ve received so many over the years and I appreciate the thought but a writing book is totally different from a engaging and well written writing book! The good ones never have dust on their spines.
So what are some good ones?
Stephen King’s On Writing is the ultimate writing book. Part memoir, part help guide, and completely useful as well as entertaining! I used it in my Improve Your Writing Giveaway a year ago and it is my go to book for recommendation today.
Say What? A fiction writer’s guide to grammar, punctuation, and word use by fantasy author C.S. Lakin is on my list for this year. I love to learn from someone who writes in my genre and C.S. Lakin is an awesome and accomplished fantasy writer.
Guide to Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by fantasy author Philip Athans is another one on my list as well. I read Phil’s blog a Fantasy Author’s Handbook, so I know he can teach information well. I love how often he uses examples, awesome fantasy writing examples, to illustrate his points. So yeah, I recommend his book!
Part of the Improve Your Writing Giveaway I hosted a year ago included two books by James Scott Bell: Dazzling Dialoge and Fight Scenes. These are great books partially because they are focused. So many authors get books on writing. HUGE books on lengthy explanations of grammar and rules and … sorry, was I snoring? I love these focused books full of energy and great tips to help you with one thing. One thing isn’t overwhelming. It is achievable and fun, a challenge that isn’t Mt. Everest. Make your writer happy with something achievable that doesn’t feel like “I know you write and you tell me about it all the time, but I can’t remember what you were talking about specifically. So I found this book all about writing in every genre in the discount section and thought you’d like it.” Just don’t.
Another great and specific book for the fantasy writer in your life is Writing Fantasy Heroes. This book is a collection of articles written by different fantasy authors covering everything from military tactics to how to march with an army and everything in between. Help bring battle scenes to life with true detail and create heroes that know their stuff while rising above the rabble!
I love creatures! I’ve always wanted a grimoire, one of those old leather bound ones written in the middle ages. Well I may never have that, but I do have an Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures. This book is thick, full of illustrations, and lists descriptions of a massive variety of mythical, fantastical, and completely magical creatures. If the writer in your life loves, loves, loves creating new fantasy races and creatures or is in need of ideas for obscure ones, this book will make them giddy.
One last book that is fairly unique and very helpful is Fantasy Map Making by Jesper Schmidt. It was only released this summer and remains one of the few books out there to help authors world build through the development of realistic maps. This is how I write and I was delighted to help Jesper with his release. Check out the book and see if it will interest the writer in your life!
Free Writing Courses
What changed my writing career was Nick Stephenson’s course YourFirst10kReaders. Seriously. I barely sold any books before taking his course and even though I finished it ages ago, he is still giving out bonus material. Of course, that was the paid course, but it all start with a great FREE video series PACKED with useful information. Take it. Watch it. Learn.
Writing Programs
I switched from writing in Pages this spring to purchasing Scrivener. Oh my gosh, I LOVE this program! It is unbelievably easy to write in (okay, the formatting part is tricky, but completely doable). If you are or know an epic fantasy writer, this program will enhance the development, plotting, and writing of your books. It is designed to allow you to keep track of scenes, subplots, research, characters … all those little bits that can get so muddled when you write a 120,000+ word novel over the course of months. And for all the massive power this program delivers, it is unbelievably cheap! $45 for Mac users, $40 for PC. And I’ve seen coupons for less. I didn’t see anything listed for Black Friday, but hey, I bet there is a coupon out there somewhere!
Book Formatting
Have you heard the writer in your life complain about formatting ebooks, especially for the myriad of different platforms and formats? Get them Vellum. For as little as $29.99, you can purchase the formatting of one title. Talk about a cheap gift that will let a writer just see how great of a gift Vellum is. Of course if you are feeling generous and never want to hear another complaint about book formatting, go for the unlimited license of $199.99. Curse words will forever be saved for writing problems and not formatting. 🙂
The Ultimate Writer’s Gift
You really want to spoil someone, like a writer? Buy them a Macbook Air. I finally replaced my ancient Macbook this summer (using funds from my book sales! Yay!). I went from writing on my iPad and fussing with word on my old Macbook to my Macbook Air. I haven’t touched my iPad in months. I love this computer!!! It is so light that I think it weighs less than my iPad. The keyboard is great and backlit, perfect for nightime writing sessions. And power… oh my goodness the power. Build websites? Yup. Create covers? No problem. Long battery life for epic writing sessions with no power outlets? Got it covered. This is the ultimate spoil your loved one gift!
Beyond Writing
If the writer in your life likes to play with images and covers or make really stand out media pictures, I recommend getting them Photoshop through Creative Cloud. Photoshop used to be one of the most pirated software programs because it was so incredibly expensive, costing thousands to purchase. No more. Amazingly, you can now use Photoshop for as little as $9.99 per month. This is revolutionary. Don’t worry if you think the program is difficult. There are LOTS of free videos and tutorials on Youtube, plus Lynda has some really inexpensive courses too. But for $10 a month, it is cheap enough to purchase and just play with. AND they have a special package for 20% on Black Friday! 
That is my list to make the writer in your life happy. I know these things have or would make me VERY happy! What about you? Do you have any favorites or recommendations that I missed? Or do you need me to forward the list to your significant other? 😉 Let me know in the comments!
hello Autumn,
I’m afraid I missed main discounts from your recommended tools (I’ve just found your post) 🙁
anyway, I appreciate your book suggestions and recommendations of cool writing tools. speaking of my favorites, two tools instantly came into my head. it’s a free plagiarism detection tool https://unplag.com/free-plagiarism-checker (I use it for checking facts and searching the font of some information that need to be checked).
another tool that makes me happy is Power Thesaurus https://www.powerthesaurus.org. what I love the most about this tool, that it’s crowdsourced, and writers throughout the world make it better day by day.
Oooh, thank you for the two additions! Those sound great and really helpful. I’m so glad you shared. 🙂