So thanks to YouTube, I taught myself to knit. As you can see by the big HOLES in my little scarf, I'm not very good. As I'm now editing my book, A Billion Reasons Why, it dawned on me how each new skill requires another new skill. Writing requires working with others who see your plot holes, and then it's your job to go in and fill them. To make a pretty, smooth manuscript that a publisher wants to publish.

It's not unlike knitting. Everyone sees the holes. They stand out. The difference is, for a knitting hole, you have to go in and rip out a whole bunch of stitches. Editing can be like this, but I know how to fix it. I know the characters, I know what I'm doing, I only need a pair of fresh eyes and a skilled editor to tell me what isn't working. Everyone can see what isn't working on the scarf, but the difference is, I don't care enough to fix it. It's a scarf. It has a hole in it, get over it.

With the scarf, people will just assume I'm unskilled and learning. With a book, people will assume I'm stupid or worse, don't care enough to fix it so I see it as God's work. Ouch! Maybe that's why I find the strength to fix the plot holes. Which, if you're looking for advice, can always be fixed with motive. If you don't have a motive for why your character acts a certain way, you have a plot hole. So always be thinking motive if something isn't working. People do idiotic things. We don't question that. We question WHY they do idiotic things. Give us the answer, and you have filled your plot hole.

Example: Why did Mel Gibson rant against Jews, when he works with the most Jewish population there is -- Hollywood? Answer: drunken binge, Nazi-raised father, bipolar??? Take your pick. They all work. They fill in the hole.

The other major issue in plot holes? Consequences. There are consequences to our stupid actions. Case in point? Michelle Obama took a glitzy vacation. Now, she is under fire for ignoring a state warning for African-Americans traveling to Spain, but also for the apparent HIGH cost for the trip, which is seen as a Marie Antoinette move when most of our country is struggling to make ends meet (see the article here
http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/aug/06/michelle-obama-compared-to-marie-antoinette.htm

So, now, if we were writing, we could create a motive. Michelle is revenge-spending for the country getting her husband on his birthday (making this up, don't get all political on me!) and she's telling him, dude, you better pay attention to me, or I will get the country to pay attention to my actions, and it will cost you. NOW we have the consequences next. Obama has to explain why he can't control the spending in his own house. Obama has to explain to critics why Michelle needed this trip, and if he's smart, Obama will pony up the cost for his wife's gaffe and tell the American public they're not paying for it.

So now, I'm back to fix my own plot holes. The knitting holes will stay.

Labels: consequences, editing, holes, knitting, motive, novels, plot holes

I met a creative soul this week. Her name is Stella. She works at the D’Vine Yarn Shop in Shipshewana. Stella has been knitting for three years and just recently started reading patterns. Before she started with patterns, she followed her creative side in the knitting process. She showed me beautiful scarves made with different textures of yarn, different colors, different patterns—all in the same scarf!! She even embroidered pictures on them—all without a pattern! WOW!

Stella has given my creative side a major boost. She told me she thinks outside the box. There is no denying that! It’s obvious in all she makes. So beautiful!

She’s given me the freedom to try some things of my own. It may not turn out as beautiful as her creations, but it will be fun trying!

I want to do the same thing with my writing. “Think outside the box.” I don’t know what that means for me right now, but I’ll get there.

How about you? Are you working on something and you’ve hit a rough or boring patch, not sure where to go from here? A craft project? A family concern? How to handle your teenager? Think outside the box. God gave us our creativity. I have no doubt there’s so much more we can do with it!

If you need help maybe our collective brains can come up with something creative to help you out. J

In the meantime, I’m working on a shawl made with Mohair yarn. The yarn is so tiny and my fingers are, well, not. But it will be worth the struggle when I’m finished. Sooooo delicate!

What are you working on?

Labels: creativity, freedom, knitting, outside the box