Last week, I entered the Alberta Street Gallery searching for a birthday gift for my son’s girlfriend. 

A million questions flooded my head: Which colors would work with her skin tone and stand out against her dark hair? What design might reflect her practical nature with a nod to her whimsy and artful aesthetic?

I purchased a pair of dangling earrings, a blend of silver and blue metals hammered into funky shapes. And as I reached for them, I thought about a character who appears in one of my short stories. She would love these earrings. Then I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to search for gifts for characters I create for my stories. What gifts would they like? What would they hate?

If you’re a creative writer like I am, consider trying this exercise. You might discover, as I did, that gifts can reveal aspects of a character’s personality that can add spice to a story.