Completion Anxiety
'Nother newbie confession: I suffer with completion anxiety issues.
For me, it's impossible to begin a new project until the one already on the needles is completed. The same is true for me in writing. Nothing will make me crazier than having to stop working on the current book to put together a one page summary of the next book for my editor. Forget the fact that I usually don't have more than a glimmer of an idea for the next book and I need to be brilliant about this one page summary thing. Just asking me to step out of the story for even a brief period of time is enough to send me to the cookie jar in search of comfort.
When I delve into a project, whether it's a knitting one or a writing one, I'm obsessed with it. I'm like one of those squirrels busy, busy, busy collecting nuts and what not to survive through the long winter months ahead. I must continue onward, collecting every last stitch, or every last word, until the project is completed. It's a sickness, I tell you!
Hence my current sojourn into deep panic mode. Not only do I have my next romantic suspense novel due to my publisher in a matter of days and ?? more chapters to go until I reach The End, but I'm also determined to finish the sweater pictured above by this weekend. (As you can see I finally figured out how to get the pic from my phone to my computer!) It will make me crazy to start in on the Sock Hop project if I have an unfinished project on the needles. Oy! What's an anal retentive like myself to do?
Breathe, Jamie. Just breathe.
[insert several deep breaths]
I so want to participate in the Sock Hop next week. And I want to do so absolutely guilt-free! But I have a book to finish. Did I mention my characters aren't all that cooperative at the moment? That's another rant...uh, I mean, blog post.
Wish me luck [she begged, as she reached deep inside the cookie jar...] I know I can do this. Right?
posted by Jamie Denton at 5:05 AM
6 Comments:
You can do it, Jamie. We all have great faith in you as both a writer and a knitter. Terrific picture, BTW. I'm going to have to work on my camera phone pics. The one I posted looked a little faded or something.
Oh, FWIW, I'm in panic mode about the Sock Hop, too. But for a different reason. I've never made socks before and the thought of it scares me silly. But I'm going to try.
Fran - I'm scared silly, too, about the Sock Hop. I played a little bit with the pattern and learned how to use dpns, so I at least conquered that fear. It's that heel turning and toe thing that's makin' me nervous.
Jamie, that's a great picture. Your phone pictures are better than my camera pictures! The sweater looks terrific btw.
Good luck on all the deadlines. Don't sweat the Sock Hop. The heel turn is so easy, honestly. It's one of those things that doesn't make sense until you sit down and do it and then you wonder why you ever thought it would be hard. It's also the singularly most exciting thing in knitting. At least to me. I get a thrill every time I turn a heel.
Jamie - You can do it, no question about it. As for completion anxiety...I'm the opposite. Probably I'd benefit from some completion anxiety.
Jamie, I've been thinking about your post and so much of it resonates w/me. I'm a one project at a time type too. All or nothing. As far as I'm concerned the worst thing that can happen when I'm in the home stretch on a book is being asked to put it aside to deal with another project. Even if it's only a one page summary. (And speaking of one page summaries, in my not very humble opinion they're harder to do than three full length books. So much hangs on every word.) If you can ever figure out a way to compartmentalize yourself please let me know because I've been searching for years and still haven't found the solution.
You're getting total sympathy from me, Jamie! I'm exactly the same way.
I'm a one-book-at-a-time writer (probably because I'm easily confused) and a one-project-at-a-time knitter.
However, I really want to do the Sock Hop so I found the easiest sock pattern I could and it's toe-up so I can shorten the cuff to any length I want just to finish it. In fact, I can even just make footies.
To compensate for a simple-minded pattern, I bought variegated yarn so the color combinations will entertain me.
Picture me metaphorically holding your hand through these rough waters! ;-)
Post a Comment
<< Home