I’m working on some longer posts right now; in the meantime, here’s a video of Ira Glass discussing the importance of perseverance. Being a young writer, this was exactly what I needed to hear (via Mental Floss):
Inspiration: Writers’ Rooms
Workspace of Beryl Bainbridge, from the Guardian.
The Guardian has a nice feature on famous writers’ workspaces, with photographs and commentary from people like Seamus Heaney and Alain de Botton (via Anh-minh). As a writer, it was comforting to see the abundance of books and papers; I sent it to my dad, and his response was only, “They’re all messy, aren’t they?”
The Writing’s On The Wall
As a writer, city dweller, and general nerd, I love the idea of functional walls. My favorite functional wall is a bookshelf, but running a close second are walls that function as writing surfaces.
If you read design blogs, you’ve already seen the Pixelnotes wallpaper (right). Created by Sirkka Hammer & Duncan Wilson, Pixelnotes is:
“A wallpaper consisting of four layers of varying grey tones on a bright primary backing. Each layer is perforated in a grid format and backed with a tacky adhesive similar to ‘post-it’ notes.”
As you use the post-its, a pixelated pattern emerges on the wall. Needless to say, I loved the design immediately; unfortunately, it’s only a conceptual creation at this point, and not available for purchase.
So I was delighted when, thumbing through this month’s Martha Stewart Living, I found this DIY chalkboard calendar (below). I was struck by the visual & functional similarity to the Pixelnotes paper. In fact, I like the chalkboard even better, since it can be reused. You can also vary the placement, size of individual squares, & colors for something more artistic or abstract.
All you need is some black chalkboard paint, homemade white chalkboard paint, tape, and a brush. The full how-to explanation is available on MSL’s website, and also in the January issue of MSL (pages 130-134).