{"id":786,"date":"2011-12-11T15:24:29","date_gmt":"2011-12-11T22:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lindacollison.com\/blog\/?p=786"},"modified":"2012-05-18T11:49:11","modified_gmt":"2012-05-18T18:49:11","slug":"words-stocking-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/words-stocking-2\/","title":{"rendered":"WORDS in every stocking"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As a child my favorite and most memorable Christmas gifts were a geologist\u2019s rock hammer, a microscope, a chemistry set — and books. \u00a0Every year Uncle Bob, the bachelor friend of my parents, gave each of the Collison girls a hardback book.\u00a0 I cherished these books, reading them over and over and over again, becoming the characters and living the story for days on end.\u00a0 Some of my favorites that leap to mind were King of the Wind<\/em> and Misty of Chincoteague<\/em>, by Marguerite Henry and Walter Farley\u2019s Black Stallion<\/em> series.\u00a0 I learned to write, as all writers do, by reading and imagining what I had read.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen a few posts and tweets this season about what to give writers for the holidays (and even posted one myself about needing more time!) but I haven\u2019t seen so many thoughts on what writers<\/em> can give (besides comp copies, remainders and ARCs for review.)\u00a0 A true gift is not a promo, I remind myself. \u00a0 Here are some ideas how writers can give unique and powerful gifts this year.\u00a0 Some are big gifts and some are cute little stocking stuffers but all can make a difference in someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Help<\/strong> someone write a winning resume \u2013 especially someone with a learning disability or someone who doesn\u2019t own a computer.<\/p>\n

Assist<\/strong> an elderly person write or record their memoirs.<\/p>\n

Read<\/strong> to a child, and often.\u00a0 Don’t have a child handy?\u00a0 Volunteer to read at a local school.<\/p>\n

Read<\/strong> to an adult.\u00a0 (A shut-in, an elderly neighbor, or your significant other!)<\/p>\n

Organize<\/strong> an afternoon or evening writing workshop for teens, or young mothers, free of charge (call your local library or youth group organization.)<\/p>\n

Volunteer<\/strong> as a tutor or pledge some hours with the local literacy program.<\/p>\n

Give books<\/strong> (other than ones you\u2019ve written!) or gift cards to buy books.<\/p>\n

Write<\/strong> a review for an author whose work you admire, post it — and don\u2019t ask for one in return.<\/p>\n

Create<\/strong> heartfelt thank-you notes to those who have done something for you.<\/p>\n

Speak<\/strong> words of good cheer and sincerity to all you greet this time of year.<\/p>\n

Greet<\/strong> someone in their native language.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> — really listen — to someone else\u2019s words and respond<\/strong> from the heart.<\/p>\n

Say thank-you<\/strong> often, be generous with your \u201cwell dones!\u201d<\/p>\n

Write<\/strong> a poem for everyone on your list<\/p>\n

Pray<\/strong> aloud.\u00a0 (Atheist?\u00a0 Talk to yourself.)<\/p>\n

Sing!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get that damn novel finished!<\/strong>\u00a0 The world is waiting for you to write your truth<\/strong> as only you can.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a child my favorite and most memorable Christmas gifts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[190],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-oddsnends"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":791,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions\/791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}