Catherine Friend
Catherine Friend

Bits and Pieces, #1

Sometimes when I’m stuck in my writing, I sit down and write to myself. It helps me figure out what I’m supposed to say next. Here’s a little bit I found in my files that helped me focus when I was stuck while writing Sheepish. Focus in memoir is so important, as is structure. It’s fun to go back and see that the book basically does what I struggled with here, which is a huge relief!

My head is full of more than anyone needs to know about sheep and wool and the history of sheep and wool and the environmental impacts of sheep and wool and the impact of free trade  on sheep and wool and how to weave and why you would and how to knit and why you would and how clothes are made and why we should even care.

But how do I put this all down in a way that makes sense? I need to spin what can be a painfully dry history of wool into stories that captivate. I need to weave together our modern view of clothing with the patriotic actions of colonists during the Revolution. I need to knit together the environmental impacts of wool, cotton, and other fibers.

Spin…weave…knit.  The language of fabric has thoroughly been woven into the fabric of our lives.  See?  The words circle back on themselves. We can’t talk about life, about complexity, about interconnections, unless we use the language of fabric.  We may think sports metaphors are deeply embedded in our language, and they are (tackle the job, hit one out of the park, ball’s back in your court, time out, etc) but using the act of making fabric, something we humans have been doing for thousands and thousands of years, is even more firmly embedded.

The problem is most of us are so far removed from the process that we don’t recognize it.
 

Writing to yourself is a great way to make things clear. I need to do it more often!   

5 Responses

  1. Thanks for sharing this! I love reading how other writers get the thoughts and words from out of their head and onto the page. I spend too much time mulling, thinking, searching, agonizing over the right words — this looks like a very productive — and liberating — technique!

  2. I have often been slightly annoyed that so many of our metaphors are sport or war related. Thanks for this insight that we have joining, transformative metaphors that can take the place of the adversarial, competitive ones.

  3. We should come up with a list of knitting alternatives to sports/war metaphors:

    Home run… Bind off?
    Time out… put down your needles?
    Touchdown… FO? (Finished object? Can’t remember that one.)

    Getting to first base…

    Okay, I’m stumped. Maybe not such a good idea! 🙂

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The Big Pivot

About Me

After twenty-five years on the farm, I’m adjusting to the adventures of city life. Part of that adjustment is figuring out what I want to write about now, since sheep are no longer part of my daily life. I’m challenging myself creatively by painting with pastels and playing the ukelele as I seek my new writing path.

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Catherine Friend is a fiscal year 2021 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.