Let’s pretend I am one lucky lady and someone just gave me a $1000 gift certificate and must spend it on Writerly Things. Imagine you had money burning a hole in your pocket and must spend it on something related to writing: books, software, pens, paper, iPad, computer. Chocolate.
Spend a few minutes and give me some recommendations on what to buy. You can suggest anything, or multiple things, as long as they don’t go over the $1000 limit.
To be on the same page, we’ll use Amazon pricing. Maybe start with their books on writing and publishing, the Holiday 2012 Electronics Gift List 
If I had $1,000 for anything writerly I would get one of my manuscripts professionally assessed(I know that’s not on Amazon, sorry, but it’s where I’d put the money first). There would probably be a little left over(I hope). I think I would spend that on a really fast laser printer so printing manuscripts wouldn’t take two hours. I doubt there would be any left over after that.
Hmm. That’s an interesting question. I think that I would go to a conference, since finances has been one of the top things that have kept me from attending them. Before I go, I’d make sure I had a few manuscripts as close to ready as it was possible for me to make them, and I’d do my research to find out the best things I could do while there. I think that would give me the biggest bang for my buck. I would also sign up for a critique session if they were available, and I’d buy a new battery for my laptop so it didn’t give up on me while taking notes in the middle of a session. (I type a lot faster than I write.) With anything that was left, I’d buy a couple of the books on my Christmas list if I don’t get them: Emotion Thesaurus and Novel Metamorphosis. I think that would just about do it. : )
Ooh! I would put the $1000 toward a writing retreat at one of those places with cabins in the woods that deliver you breakfast and lunch at the cabin door, then cook a comfort meal in the lodge at dinner with the other hermited writers. I would take my laptop and WIP and Donna Hickey’s DEVELOPING A WRITTEN VOICE and Linda Seger’s CREATING UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS and read and write and take creative naps until my money ran out. ( Which, I guess, wouldn’t take long considering part of it would have to go to the dog walker back home…)
Kirstie:
A professional critique would be awesome and probably money well spent. Lots of people are telling me they would spend it on education like this in some form.
Darcy
Hey! I think we writers are more “give me education” or “give me time to write” sort of folks, instead of “give me STUFF.” Sounds about right. Have you delved into Dona Hickey’s book, yet? It’s amazing.
Darcy
Oh, I love some of these ideas. I would definitely attend the Novel Revisions Workshop put on by the Highlights Foundation. It’s a dream of mine. Oh, and I’d buy chocolate. Lots of chocolate.
Yeah. Chocolate, too. Chocolate and writing. Perfect combination.