Femi Martin is a storyteller.
She’s created fiction inspired by Charles Dickens novels, shared her struggles with illness in the Achalasia Diaries on BBC 4, and captivated UK festival audiences with performances of her short stories about love, relationships, and stolen chocolate bars.
Her stories always start at the point of a pen, and Femi was kind enough recently to share with us how writing by hand guides her creative process.
Art comes in all forms.
It can be a pen-and-ink drawing. Or a watercolor painting. Or a delicate pencil sketch.
Or sometimes, it can be a simple chalkboard menu written in a flowing hand.
Meet Amanda Miller, known as the Chalkboard Lady to her clients.
Pens are one of the most basic tools that writers can use, so when whole worlds of imagination flow out of them, it seems magical.
And maybe it is – the story inside a writer’s head comes to life when the words hit the page.
That’s why, even with all the technology available to writers today, some still prefer to start their work with nothing but a pen and paper to hand.
Novelist Zoe Sumra is one of them. The London-based writer recently some time out to answer some questions for us.
The brilliant thing about pens is that, while they’re capable of producing great art, they also provide one of our simplest, most effective means of communication, aside from speech.
That’s why we love to hear from people who put their pens to that most fundamental task, connecting people through the handwritten word. Especially when they’re helping to pass that skill on to the next generation.
Today, we introduce you to Ruth Stephens, an occupational therapist and pen enthusiast in West Sussex.
Halloween’s always a load of fun and a great excuse to play dress-up, especially if you’re going to a costume party.
So why not take the opportunity to flaunt your stationery geekery? and dress up for Halloween in a stationery inspired costume.
There is any number of costumes you can buy or make that will show off your favorite pens, pencils, and paper. We’ll show what a few people have done in years past, then we’ll toss out a couple of ideas of our own.
