I think one of the things that holds new writers back is the idea that a first draft is supposed to be perfect. It’s easy to fall into the trap of self-editing or giving up partway through a manuscript, but first drafts aren’t supposed to be perfect or pretty. They’re supposed to be messy.
I was at university the year I got The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart for Christmas. That was more years ago than I care to remember, but I have never forgotten the impact the book had on me.
Revisiting favourite books can be a gift in itself.
I received a copy of *Frenchman’s Creek*, by Daphne du Maurier, for Christmas, when I was eighteen years old.
Out of all the gifts I’ve received throughout life I always love the bookish ones. The most memorable of the book-related gifts I’ve been given was Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone.
Books given as gifts do so much more than just tell a story. They hold memories.
The activities in the book, which included writing a personal mission statement, led to major life changes including a new job, moving to a new state, an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction, and a career as a published mystery writer.
Our reading tastes change and evolve and I don’t want to lose the magic of getting lost in its pages many years ago. But, the book also sits front and center as a reminder that the best gifts come from the heart.
It’s that vividness that inspired me to create my own stories, first as a child, making them up in my head before I fell asleep at night, and later, as an adult, writing romances.
Even in this age of internet recipes, I still use my copy of THE JOY OF COOKING and wouldn’t dream of parting with it, despite the stained cover and pages, the broken spine, and the place-marker ribbons worn to shreds.
