Ever since I could put two thoughts together...
OK, generic bland story about how much I always wanted to be a writer SKIPPED! It's unimportant and boring. The point is: I've written poetry, written stories, and am now, quite unexpectedly, writing a novel in November. Doesn't that sound nice and rhythmic? Novel in November, novel in November. NaNoWriMo.
1667 words a day
To reach about 50,000 at the end of the month.
When I began to knit, and think of myself as a knitter, I wondered. Would my creative power as a writer be sapped? Was knitting a creative release, or simply a soothing and attractive outlet for stress? How do my knitting and writing fit together?
Really, I still wrestle with this question. But maybe I have a little bit of an answer, just a little.
I am a perfectionist when I write, and I have developed the deadly habit of abandoning stories, a common, but deadly infection of many writers. When I began to knit, this fear of unfinishing, combined with my fear of the dreaded SSS, fueled a quiet determination within me. Don't flake out, Genuine. Don't disappoint yourself.
I completed my first pair of socks in 17 days, complete with losing one needle and numerous froggings. I completed another pair of socks, one that I have used a lot since I finished them, and I need to whip out my needle to weave in a snagged area on one sock, and fix the hole in the gusset on theother. And I have two socks that need mates. SSS.
But somehow, it doesn't matter.
When I finished those first socks, I felt something. Accomplishment. Maybe astonishment that I could (insert tired cliche about pile of string magically becoming socks) Anyway, it kind of kicked me in the ass.
Is it only the second day of NaNoWriMo? Am I meeting the bare minimum of words? Yes. But somehow, knitting has not undone my writing, but fuels it. Some knitting I do is creative. But last night, at 2 in the morning, after meeting my word count, the most natural thing in the world to do was to pick up some soft, chunky alpaca and work on my moss-stitch scarf. Knowing that I would get up early. And I felt pride, both in those 1,695 words, and that scarf.
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1 comment:
Wow! That's a lot of words! I hope the novel is going well. :)
I just found your blog and would like to say that you write very well. The way you organize your thoughts and everything in your blog is different than some other people's, and seems more interesting. I will be back to read any updates! :) (By the way, you are on my buddy list on Ravelry, I'm kssunflower.)
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