Fi Phillips

I thought I'd leave this one until last because it's the best one of all. It's also free. You don't need to spend any money to buy this gift for your writerly friend. As writers, what we often need is someone to listen, not necessarily to our work (although on occasion we would love to read aloud to you) but rather to have someone to throw ideas around with. Your opinion as a reader is incredibly valuable but your outlook on life can also be a lifesaver. Will this storyline work? Is this a good place to start? Would jelly actually do that in zero gravity? Writing is mainly a solitary business. We writers can become blinkered to life out there in the real world and whether the words we're planting on the page actually work. We need outside input and interaction. So next time you see your writerly friend, or speak to them on the phone, why not ask if there's anything you can do to help? It could be as simple as a cup of tea to chat. Whatever it is, it'...

We each have twenty four hours a day. That is an undeniable fact. How we use those hours is up to us - sleep, work, play - and equally how much worth we place on those allotted hours is our choice too. I recently resigned from an unpaid role managing a Facebook page for a writing group. I've been in the role for a year and I felt that the time had come to move on and use that time and effort more effectively for my writing career. That was the main reason. The second reason was that during the past year, the 'founder' of the group has expected more and more of me and has been unpleasant, to say the least, when I have tried to discuss the page with her. My resignation was met with an outpouring of poison from this person. One of the unfortunate factors of offering our time for free is that certain individuals will have no respect for our effort. If they are not paying us for time spent managing a Facebook page or in writing an unpaid article for their site, those ind...