WIP Wednesday
I first saw the acronym WIP (work in progress) on knitting blogs. WIPs are a natural part of being a knitter. I normally have at least four projects on the go so that if I lose interest in one, I’ve another project right there that also needs attention. See, I’m really good at beginning things — and very good at ending them once the finish line is in sight. The middle? Eh, not so much. The thrill has worn off and the rewards of completion seem impossibly remote and all there is left is the process. The yarn trails over and through my fingers, the needles tick the stitches past, the project hangs between then and then and is only, forever, now. What it is.
This is actually (and I am only realizing this as I type, which is yet another good reason to write because it kicks my brain into gear) a very good analogy for writing as well. Beginnings are so explosively full of potential. Oh the many things this story can be! I don’t even like to look at them too hard in case they run and hide but I spy them! They’re right there, all that magic, all those soaring, wonderful words like rags tied to tree branches, wishes waiting to be whipped away by the wind. And the end feels a bit like an avalanche. The words are pushing me forward and I am just typing as fast I can to stay ahead of the inevitable, crashing end.
The middle however, is hard. The daily reality of the work squats like limp lettuce sandwiched between two slices of adreneline. It is only grit and patience that keeps the words going. That is when it is work.
But what else gets the sweater knit? What else gets the book written? Or anything anything at all done? What is worth doing that is not, at some point, work? The middle is the whole point. It is the center without which there is only the idle, dusty dream of what could have been. This is what keeps me knitting when I have twelve inches of 2×2 ribbing ahead of me — knowing that each stitch is as crucial as every other stitch, that every stitch is both the beginning and ending because each stitch is one of the many many steps that links beginning to end and makes it whole.
And coming to the end of a day’s writing or an evening’s knitting feels good. And if I do not see dramatic progress in the project, yet I know that progress is progress, dramatic or not. The process is the product.
(This was brought to you by the inspiration of Kate Quinn whose new WIP Wednesday seems a marvellous way to celebrate the middle of the week and of the work.)
What elegantly written thoughts about a WIP. I just love the writing/knitting analogy.
Oddly enough, when I decided to start WIP Wednesday I googled it first to see if there were any other writers using this idea and instead found that it was being used by crafters, and thought that was really interesting because I only had before associated the phrase with writers.
I also have to admit when I was a kid I was taught how to crochet and never had either the grit or patience to see even the smallest project to the end, but for writing I seem able to dig deep and more days then not, come a couple stitches closer to the end.
I like the way you write!
And I agree, middles are super hard. Mostly I have dozens of started stories, and maybe two complete ones. *sigh*
I want to learn how to knit! I have another writer friend who is also a knitter.
And I’m with you, Kate, I had only ever heard wip referred to writing projects. Maybe back in the day I thought it meant writing-in-progress.
great post and enjoyed your writing. Interesting analogy knitting and writing. I like that “The process is the product”. thanks for the inspiring words. My post is
Here
Hopefully the link worked.
yeah francesca! i was feeling nostalgic while wasting time (a favorite pasttime for me) and looked up your old blog which lead me to you new blog which lead me here! now i can cyber stalk you again! or at least pretned i am good at “keeping up”. come visit!