Ever since I really became serious about my writing, I’ve wanted to have a room with my ideas posted all over the walls. A physical manifestation of the inside of my head. Right now, with the rooms in our small home committed, that isn’t possible.
However, there was one wall in the library – where I try to get cozy and write – where the walls were not lined with books or filled with a window. The trouble was it was closet doors.
When we first moved in I’d thought about painting them with chalkboard paint, or covering them with corkboard. Both of those options I’m sure would work fine, but the financial cost when weighed out against the fact we are renting did not make it viable. Why bother putting in effort and decent dollars just to eventually have to undo it all (and incur more cost at that time).
I’m actually sort of proud of the idea I was struck with and wanted to pass it on to those who might be interested in accomplishing something similar.
Cellophane works wonders.
Think of gift baskets packed with lotions or candy or whatever and wrapped in clear cellophane. It’s that stuff you want to get your hands on.
I went to my local dollar store and bought two rolls of clear cellophane and a package of dry erase markers. I was lucky the width of a roll happened to be just shy of the width of one closet door. I measured and cut the length I’d need (the height of my closet door) and then secured the cellophane to the closet door with a couple pieces of scotch tape on all four sides. I did the same for the second door.
I just created two sliding 6′ tall white boards. I can write and erase with kleenex or my fingers.
I’ve been using the left side as a timeline tracker for hashing out the story progression for Addison Dark’s new novel. The right side has been sequestered for the time being as a random idea scribble pad, that if I’m honest is currently filled with nothing but nuggets for the Addison Dark book and it’s potential sequels.
This has been a fantastic tool as I’m able to pace in front of a wall of writing and really interact with the ideas. While sitting across the room, Alphasmart writing machine on my lap, I can simply glance up for a complete overview of where I am and where I’m going. With all my ideas in a single glance, I can drop them in on the fly and rarely forget to set them up earlier on. All those benefits for a whopping $3.
Can’t wait until the day I get an entire room dedicated to cellophane walls and my writing ideas!
Read me later,
Timm
