It’s November, winter is just around the corner, and the holidays are coming. It’s time to begin thinking about gifts for the fellow writer in your life, or gifts for yourself that will make your writing life more enjoyable, or suggestions for your wish list. Here are some of my favorite writing-related items. Enjoy!

Fingerless Gloves – Fingerless gloves are great for writers because they keeps hands warm while leaving fingers free to type. They’re also pretty fashionable both for men and for women. I love my merino wool fingerless gloves.

Book Chair – These eco-friendly book holders keep novels, reference books, or cookbooks open while the reader is working, lifting weights, taking notes, or grooming the cat.

Adjustable Tables – My fully adjustable table/desk saved my wrists, back, and neck. I would recommend these tables to anyone who is concerned about ergonomics or who experiences pain while working. They also take up so little room that they’re ideal for small apartments.

Ergonomic Keyboards and Mice – Adjustable keyboards, touch-pad mice, and other ergonomic work devices are available from this site. Ideal for those who suffer from repetitive stress injuries or carpel tunnel symptoms.

“Word Choice” Print – This print says it all.

Laptop Case- Trendy and practical, a custom-fit laptop case makes people take you seriously.

Espresso Makers – Long, cold nights and deadlines . . . espresso to the rescue!

There are hundreds of other great gifts for writers, especially because most freelancers are exhausted, downtrodden, and in desperate need of attention. ( . . . What? You aren’t? Lucky you!) If someone wants to get you a gift, suggest one of these items to them. Or ask them for a massage, dinner, absolute silence, or a well-deserved holiday. Or cupcakes. Yum!

Even the most experienced writers can benefit from getting feedback about their writing. However, feedback is one of the hardest things to obtain–even harder than a sale sometimes! Your friends and family say your writing is great, but do they know? And if they did, would they tell you otherwise? Constructive criticism and honest, objective feedback can really challenge you to improve your writing . . . when you can get it.

One of the best outlets for literary feedback comes from participation in a writers’ workshop. At such events, writers will produce work that everyone reads, then receive reaction to and criticism about their work, while offering the same in return to the other writers. We all don’t live in locations that offer such workshops, nor do we all have the time to participate in them.

However, you can participate in writing workshops online. WritersOnlineWorkshops.com, which is affiliated with Writer’s Digest, is a well-respected venue for writers seeking to improve their work and receive valuable feedback from fellow writers and a published instructor. The prices are reasonable (less than most college courses), the topics broad, and the site easy to use. Best of all, writers enrolled in a given workshop can sign on and respond to other writers according to their own schedule.

The experience I’ve had with Writers Online Workshops has been largely positive–not only was I challenged and given quality feedback, I was also amongst others who shared similar interests and goals. And I did most of this in my pajamas drinking cocoa!

Writers Online Workshops offers sessions in short fiction, personal essay writing, novel writing, and even technical writing. There are also courses in the fundamental aspects of writing for those who need to warm up before they dive directly into writing an article, story, novel, or essay. The instructors are professional and the format is straightforward. If you have time, want to have a little fun, want to meet other writers, and want to improve your writing through giving and receiving feedback, Writers Online Workshops may be the site to check out.

Okay. I am not intentionally trying to make anyone be less productive, but if you’re going to procrastinate, you might as well build vocabulary skills, right? If I’m having a bad bout of writer’s block, or need to warm up before settling in to meet a deadline, I might play one of these word games for awhile.

Scrabulous - Play Scrabble online against other players, yourself, or a robot. Try “blitz” mode for practice against real people without losing permanent points.

SandScript – This is a crossword puzzle-like game without the irritating grid.

Text Twist – See how many words you can make out of one set of letters.

Bookworm – This challenging game becomes more satisfying the better you get at playing it.

Enjoy . . . but don’t enjoy too much!