What am I supposed to give Anthony as a wedding gift? I asked Kristin, my bridesmaid and person-who-was-married. I mean, what kinds of things do brides give their grooms? I was thinking of hiring someone to clean the house before we left for the honeymoon so wed come back to a spotless house. Is that a good wedding gift?
Um, no, she said gently, so as not to make me feel like an idiot. It should be something personal. Like, you could paint him a picture, or make a scrapbook, or write him a poem...
A poem? Why, I had at least a dozen poems Id written about him that hed never seen. And if I wrote a few more, Id have a whole chapbook!
Thats exactly what I did. Over the next couple of months, I wrote more poems. I wrote the final one the day before our wedding, capturing my feelings on the eve of our marriage. Then I printed them out, three-hole-punched them, made a cardstock cover, and tied the pages together with ribbon.
On our wedding day, I took him aside after our ceremony and read him the last poem. It was a perfect gift.
But you dont have to wait for such a monumental occasion to use writing as a gift. One of my friends writes childrens books and illustrates them, then gives them to her grandkids on their birthdays. A successful greeting card publisher started out her business because she used to write original cards for all of her family and friendsthey loved them so much that they encouraged her to offer her sentiments to the masses.
Ive also donated personal essays to anthologies, just so I could give the book as a gift to the person the essay was about. I wrote a love letter to Anthony and sent it off to be published in the anthology Love Letters of a Lifetime, then gave it to him for Valentines Day.
A poem I wrote for my grandmother was made into a plaque by the James Lawrence Company. A poem to my mother was made into a plaque as well, which I gave her for Mothers Day.
For my bridal shower, a family friend gave me two journals: one for Anthony, one for me. On the card, she wrote her instructions: We were to write in our journals every day, and exchange them on our first anniversary.
Your words dont have to be published to be gifts. You can design your own prints, cards, banners, and books on your computer, or go truly hand-made and pick up a pack of construction paper and markers.
If you want to get fancy, you can hire an artist to make you a cover or design your work for you. Finding them couldnt be simpler: try Googling illustrators, graphic designers, or artists and see for yourself!
You may write and self-publish your family history as a gift for all your relatives and future generations. Print-on-demand companies make this an affordable option if you shop around and do away with the extras.
You may use a program like Greetings Workshop to design a calendar. You can insert your own photos and poems or short sentiments, and even write in your own imaginative holidays.
Write your own romance, starring you and your significant other, as an anniversary gift. (Could be a short story, or a novella if youre feeling ambitious!)
Write a story to be read every Christmas as a new family tradition.
Write an inspirational poem for a relative whos in the hospital.
Write a limerick to stick in your daughters lunchbox.
At the local printer, a personalization shop, or several places online, you can have your words made up into a t-shirt, mug, poster, bumper sticker, magnet, or plaque. Its wonderful to find that strangers enjoy your published words, but it can be even nicer to find that your words can light up your childrens eyes, or your spouses, or your parents. A gift of your talent and your heart is generous, and more meaningful than anything you could get at the local mega-mall. Spend some time today writing for someone you love.
About The Author
Jenna Glatzer is the editor-in-chief of Absolute Write (www.absolutewrite.com). She has written for hundreds of national and online magazines, and her latest book is MAKE A REAL LIVING AS A FREELANCE WRITER, which you can find at www.absolutewrite.com. Find out how to get a FREE editors' cheat sheet with this book!
Copyright 2004 Jenna Glatzer. All rights reserved.
This article may be freely reprinted as long as my bio and copyright remain in tact.
affordable house cleaning Park Ridge ..1. Make your goals achievable.By achievable, we mean realistic and... Read More
|| Graphology & Graphotherapy ||Everybody wants to know more about... Read More
Are you ready to abandon your short stories? Before you... Read More
Have you given up on getting your book out of... Read More
Sometimes a freelance writing career can feel very much like... Read More
How do you choose a name? Do you put down... Read More
So you've got your plot outlined, a title lined up... Read More
Hands up all those who'd like to have a successful... Read More
ADAPTATION 101Brimming with confidence, you've just signed the check purchasing... Read More
No one is born a novel writer. But do you... Read More
Is your book nearly finished, finished, published, or even in... Read More
ELICIT, ILLICITElicit means to extract or draw out; illicit means... Read More
Communication is effective when we follow certain rules. These rules... Read More
There's a little known secret we writers like to keep... Read More
First drafts are for getting down the ideas. Anna Jacobs... Read More
Have you ever started a creative writing project with great... Read More
When attempting to understand Creativity and Innovation, it pays to... Read More
The Internet has truly revolutionized the careers of writers worldwide.... Read More
The purpose of this article is to consider Print-On-Demand publishing... Read More
Verb and SubjectIncorrect:"I bet you two had a fine time,"... Read More
As in all endeavors, toil is necessary to succeed and... Read More
Okay. So I'm not David Letterman. But I doubt if... Read More
Have you ever written a letter to a friend? Ever... Read More
Every part of your book can be a sales tool.... Read More
How to get a lot of traffic to your website... Read More
affordable house cleaning Mundelein ..There's nothing that kills a scene like hackneyed dialogue. Just... Read More
My husband is no poet, so when I offer my... Read More
Writing is a muscle that needs exercise to stay in... Read More
You know you've got writing talent. Others enjoy your work... Read More
Beyond three and four act story structure, lies the Hero's... Read More
What a lack of research could do to you.When creating... Read More
Have you ever had a student write to tell you... Read More
How many times have you forced yourself to sit in... Read More
In the 7th grade I wanted to be an architect... Read More
Complaint letters aren't always fun, but sometimes they need to... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?Our plotting stage is our testing area.Everything... Read More
Maybe you should write a book! This is not as... Read More
Set your journal or diary where you will see it... Read More
When attempting to understand Creativity and Innovation, it pays to... Read More
If you are reading this article then you probably have... Read More
During my 25-year career in a variety of professional positions... Read More
So you want to be a writer, except you don't... Read More
The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea... Read More
So, the decision is final. I am a writer.Actually, I... Read More
Think of writing like karate...it's about DISCIPLINE.Writing, like other forms... Read More
Hands up all those who'd like to have a successful... Read More
Whether you are writing a magazine article, composing a press... Read More
As a previous article ("Making Better Word Choices ? 4... Read More
I asked several writers how long it took them to... Read More
Interesting characters that readers care about are the most important... Read More
Writing |