On Double Pointed Things
(In which, once again, I attempt to
relate random things to writing...)
I just stared my first knitting project
on the fearsome double pointed needles. As you can see from the
picture, it involves using four needles at once. Sound scary?
It is.
Until you get started.
Once you try knitting in the round with
double-pointed needles, you'll find that it's perfectly easy, makes
sense, and is in fact very useful. As I've been delving into, oh,
intermediate knitting the past few months, I've realized that almost
everything about knitting works that way. Anyone else remember Rilla
Blythe's griping about the Kitchener stitch in Rilla of Ingleside?
Well, I learned it last week. It's easy. Rilla was whining. (Did I just complain
about something written by L. M. Montgomery? I don't believe it. But
my honesty has been proven.)
Likewise,
the more I write, the more I realize it's all about the way you
approach it. Aspects of writing will look scary, until you look
closely, analyze the details, and just try them. Queries used to make
my head spin. Now I enjoy writing them. When I finish my outlines, I
always have the thought: This is too big for me. Can I do
it? But once I'm a few chapters
in, I realize I have all the skills I need to keep going.
To me,
pulling off a successful scene is like knitting with double-pointed
needles. There's too much going on at once! How will I remember good
dialogue when I have to worry about pacing? Will my descriptions
suffer because I'm focusing about character development? Well, the
“secret” to knitting on double-points is this: you're really just
knitting like normal, with two needles. (And two things to think of
at once isn't bad, right?) Those other two? They just hang there,
waiting until they're needed. When you're writing a scene, it's essential to focus on the task at hand, be it dialogue, description, etc., and to keep the other aspects tucked away in the back of your mind, ready to jump out when they're needed. Just don't forget they're hanging back there, and you'll be fine.
Not
that you don't have to work at writing. Keeping the knitting simile
going, I knit dozens of simple projects—hats, scarves,
washcloths—before I tried my hand at the trickier ones. You have to
get the exercise and learning in.
But
after that, you have to trust yourself.
And,
after that, you have to fix things. The techniques that made me most
confident in knitting were those of learning to repair mistakes. And
the techniques that will make you a great writer will be the ability
to see flaws in your writing and fix them.
Note
to real knitters: Forgive me for making something very simple seem
complicated. Am I really the only one who got jitters over those
dpns? And, if you're interested, the pattern I'm knitting is called
“Tree of Life Wristlets,” and I'm using Road to China SilkenJewels Yarn (Mmmmm...so soft). I just finished the first one, and
it's super cute. :)
I totally admire your mad knitting skills. I need to learn! Great comparison!
ReplyDeleteIt's so much fun! (Just find someone to knit with who will teach you to fix things. :)
DeleteI agree! Although I'm not a knitter :). But I definitely think there are certain times when writing feels extraordinarily difficult, even impossible. Usually, with a little time and distance, I find I can push through and get the scene down on paper.
ReplyDeleteYes, time and distance are SO important.
DeleteSo in the interest of L. M. Montgomery, perhaps we can say that she was intentionally calling Rilla a whiner? :) Everyone of that day would have known that the Kitchener was a relatively stitch, and then they would see more of how Rilla disliked knitting. :) Just a thought. Because of my admiration for LMM and hope that she would have written it intentionally. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm willing to give LMM the benefit of the doubt to a ridiculous degree, so your request is simple. :)
DeleteI've knit for years and have always managed to avoid patterns that require dp needles and charts. Altho I do want to try the dp needles so I can make a pair of socks. I love the idea of hand-knit socks. But I'm still staying away from the charts.
ReplyDeleteOh, charts! I haven't done anything with a chart yet either...but socks are on my to-try-soon list.
DeleteWhat an awesome analogy--pulling off a scene is like knitting with double pointed needles. I would never have thought of this.
ReplyDeleteI once knitted, when my first two little girls were small and I had very little time because of them to write. So I knitted some scarves and watched re-runs of the Dick Van Dyke Show (this was mid-Sixties) while tending the girls. As I recall, I didn't knit very long! I admire anyone who knits the way you describe. And I love that photograph that shows your creative skills with photography. You are a talented woman!
Ann Best, Author of In the Mirror & Other Memoirs
Thank you, Ann. I do find that knitting is good for keeping my hands busy during those times that I can't write but still want to avoid folding laundry. :)
DeleteThe nice thing about writing, though, is that you DON'T have to pay attention to all those things at once. You can just do one at a time, then do the next one during the next revision, and the next one during the next... It's a thing of beauty, really. :) And one of the reasons I <3<3<3 revising.
ReplyDelete