Stacyverb

My Writing Process blog tour

The excellent Amanda Miska tagged me for the My Writing Process blog tour, so here are my answers!

What am I working on?

My main writing project right now is a novel I started in 2012. I'm hoping to complete the first draft of it during my upcoming residency at the Vermont Studio Center. It's about a 20-something woman who lives in a dead-end town and got married too young for less-than-great reasons. She has few opportunities and doesn't necessarily make the best use of the ones she does have. It's not as bleak as it sounds, althought some of it is pretty bleak. On the side, I'm also working on a short story that revolves around an abandoned supermarket.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My blog differs from many others in that I've never wanted to limit it to one narrow focus. It's not a sewing blog, or book blog, or whatever--it's a blog of whatever I feel like. Fiction-wise, I hope that I bring a variety of perspectives based on my experiences living in the south, the northeast, and the midwest; in funky urban neighborhoods and rural areas; in a small college town and a bland suburb. 

Why do I write what I do?

On the blog, I like to write and photograph projects I've done and things that inspire me, because I think documenting creativity has value. If I share these types of things, maybe other people get inspired too. In fiction, it's harder to say. Right now I'm in a phase where I want to write about people whose lives are quite different from mine, to understand their perspectives and show what makes them interesting. There's something interesting about everybody, but too often we don't bother digging around to find what it is. Writing satisfies my urge to be nosier than might be acceptable in real life!

How does my writing process work?

Often, curiosity is what gets me started. Meeting someone with an unusual job--what's it like to do that work? Observations around town or on road trips can get my imagination going--what does that strange sign mean, or why is that building vacant? Things like that. I tend to jot down a lot of notes and brainstorm for a while with a pen and paper, and then start working on my laptop when I'm ready to develop the notes into something coherent. I enjoy writing by hand, but being able to cut, paste, and delete easily becomes vital at that stage.

Thanks, Amanda, for tagging me!

Nonfiction November, week 4: New To My TBR

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans! I'm happy to have many things to be thankful for. Among these are good books and the ability to connect with other book lovers via blogs. On that note...

...this is (obviously) the final week of Nonfiction November. I've really enjoyed getting to know some new blogs and bloggers through this event, not to mention having the chance to write about books I love and to learn about ones I now look forward to reading.

Our topic this week was:

New to My TBR: What nonfiction have you added to your toppling TBR pile this month? Be sure to credit which bloggers you heard about titles from (if you can remember)!

Disclaimer: I've been terrible about keeping track of where I read about what. And I'm pretty sure I discovered some of these titles outside of this event. But, anyway, here are some recent additions to my nonfiction to-be-read list.

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital  by Sheri Fink  This book takes a look at what happened at one New Orleans hospital during and after Katrina. I've been hearing a lot of good things about this book from a variety of sources, so I'm very interested in reading it.

Their Life's Work: The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, Then and Now by Gary M. Pomerantz  It's practically impossible to imagine my childhood without my family gathered around the TV to watch our beloved Steelers in their heyday. This book sounds like an important contribution to sports history journalism.

Drama High: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, a Struggling Town, and the Magic of Theater by Michael Sokolove I learned about this book via Kim, pre-NonFicNov. Although I never participated in theater, the process of blue-collar kids becoming interested in any of the arts is always a fascinating subject that's near and dear to me.

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan This is one I know someone blogged about during NonFicNov, but I can't remember who it was--sorry! (If it was you, please pipe up so I can give you a proper shout-out.) It sounds like a truly gripping story about Cahalan's experience with a sudden and terrifying illness that mystified doctors as they tried to save her life.

At Least You're in Tuscany: A Somewhat Disastrous Quest for the Sweet Life by Jennifer Criswell Hey, I actually remember that it was Lovely Bookshelf who recommended this one! As someone who doesn't get to travel nearly as much as I would like, I'm a sucker for a good travel memoir. This one looks funny as well as dreamy.

Thank you, Kim and Leslie, for hosting Nonfiction November! It's been fun!

Nonfiction November, week 3: Book Pairing

Welcome to another installment of Nonfiction November! Our topic for this week is...

Book Pairing: Match a fiction book with a nonfiction book that you would recommend.

Right now I'm re-reading one of my all-time favorite novels, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. I could write a whole post about all the ways I love this book (maybe I will do that sometime). To me, it's a contender for the elusive, unofficial title of Great American Novel (hmmm...yes, okay, definitely need to do a whole post about that).

This book is epic in scope, but to describe it briefly, it tells the story of two cousins, Sammy Clay and Joe Kavalier, as they collaborate to create a new hero during the Golden Age of comic books--The Escapist. Brooklyn- born Sammy is a young man with many ideas. Joe, a talented artist, has just arrived in New York after fleeing Nazi-occupied Prague and needs to raise money to help the rest of his family get out of Europe. This is a novel about culture and commerce, family and politics. Love, lust, history, dreams...it's about all of that. It's funny and exciting and beautifully written.

For a non-fiction book to pair with Kavalier & Clay, I've chosen Art Spiegelman's Maus. Widely considered to be a graphic masterpiece, Maus ties in pretty well with K & C, I think. In comic book form, Spiegelman tells the story of his father, who lived through the very Nazi horrors that Joe Kavalier manages to escape. Chabon and Spiegelman both address the ways in which the survivors' guilt later affects their relationships with other people. It's often heart-breaking, but such a compelling story and so beautifully rendered.

As an added connection between these two books, K & C and Maus both won Pulitzer Prizes!

What are some fiction-nonfiction pairings you'd recommend?

Nonfiction November, week 2: Be The Expert

I'm really enjoying participating in Nonfiction November*. This week's subject is:

Be the Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert:  Share a list of nonfiction books on a topic you know a lot about. Or, ask for some advice for books on a particular topic. Or, put together a list of nonfiction books on a topic you’re curious about.

Those of you who are regular readers (and I know there've been a lot of new readers lately as well, so *waving* "HI!" to you newcomers) won't be shocked that I've picked knitting as my topic of expertise. The word "expert" actually makes me uncomfortable, because in knitting there is always more to learn, but I do work in a knitting shop and make part of my living by teaching people to knit, so it's pretty safe to say that I know more about knitting than most people do. So, here are five books I recommend on the subject.

 

Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook by Debbie Stoller When Stoller, co-founder of Bust magazine, came out with this book about ten years ago, it introduced a whole new audience to the idea that knitting can be very cool. I love this book for that influence alone, but it's also a fantastic beginner guide that teaches the basics and contains dozens of patterns for easy (but fun) projects.

 

Knitting From The Top by Barbara G. Walker Once you're ready to dabble in designing your own projects, this book--frumpy cover notwithstanding-- is indispensable. Barbara G. Walker is a knitting legend. I got to meet her a few years ago. She was 75 years old at the time and wearing an anarchy t-shirt. She signed my book. We had lunch. She read my tarot cards. She sold my friend a sparkly hand-knit jumpsuit for a Ken doll. That was a weird day. Weird, and AWESOME.

 

440 More Knitting Stitches from The Harmony Guides series  An intrepid knitter armed with a good stitch dictionary is pretty much unstoppable. This is one of my favorites because it has a bit of everything--basic textures, cables, lace, colorwork, etc. For a craft that only has two basic stitches--knit and purl--the number of possible variations is mind-boggling. Some are easier than others, of course, but the challenge can be part of the fun. If you can't get inspired looking through the Harmony Guides, you might not have eyeballs.

 

Knit Socks! by Betsy Lee McCarthy  "Knitting your own socks?!? What a colossal waste of time!"--me, years ago. I was a skeptic for way too long, but eventually I succumbed to peer pressure (fellow knitters can be very persuasive) and gave sock knitting a try. It's fun! And you can make socks that fit you impeccably (a bonus for weird-foot-sized people like me). This book is the perfect intro to sock knitting. Its instructions are extremely clear and it offers a variety of styles to make.

 

Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch  Of course, if you're like most people who get hooked on making socks, you won't be content to stick with the basics. This book opens up a wide, crazy world of socks for every size foot in every thickness of yarn, using a variety of techniques. You could literally make thousands of pairs of socks using this book and never repeat yourself. With this book, you'll never need to buy another sock pattern again. Having said that, there is also a sequel, just in case.

 

*Missed my post for the first week of Nonfiction November? Here it is.

Nonfiction November, week 1: Favorites

This month, Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness and Leslie at Regular Rumination are co-hosting an event called Nonfiction November and have invited other book-loving bloggers to join them in blogging about nonfiction books. As someone who tends to lean more to the fiction side of the reading spectrum, it's an interesting challenge for me to think about what kinds of nonfiction I gravitate toward.

After a quick glance at my bookshelf, here's a sampling (in no particular order) of ten nonfiction books I love. All of these are books I'd give four or five stars out of five.

On Writing by Stephen King

Just Kids by Patti Smith

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner

Who Are You People? by Shari Caudron

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe by Laurie Lisle

Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum

Love Is A Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

There isn't necessarily any common thread tying them all together. I do tend to be drawn to books about artists/writers/musicians and the creative process, and I also like to read about people immersing themselves in new places or subcultures. A pop culture angle can be a plus sometimes.

Mostly, though, as with any book, it all comes down to the writing. None of the books on this list would be so compelling without the authors' skillful storytelling and passion for their subjects. Although I'll always be a bigger fiction fan, when a nonfiction book is well done, it can be just as much of a page turner as any novel.

Transform

[This is another post in a series of topic challenges some fellow blogger pals and I are doing. This time, Maria asked her husband to choose our topic. He gave us three options: "ennui," "transform," and "cheese." Tough choice! Here's my quick response to the word "transform."]

I've been knitting off and on for decades, so I largely take the process for granted. My hands know what to do, and they just do it. But every now and then I have a moment when I become really aware of the process and then I can't stop thinking about how strange it is. (You know those kinds of moments? Like when you're looking at your own name and all of a sudden it looks so weird?)

At these moments of abrupt knitting awareness, I have this flash of who thought of this? Someone had the idea to shave a sheep, figure out how to turn its fleece into a stringlike substance, and then come up with a process of transforming that string into fabric by making a series of loops--using tools that they also had to invent--so they could create garments or blankets or whatever they needed. It's kind of mind-blowing when you consider it.

 

This used to be a dirty sheep fleece. What???

 

Whoever came up with this procedure, my hat's off to them. Personally, I think it's very cool that I have the ability to transform yarn into a stylish, functional item. It's kind of like magic, or alchemy, or something.

Over the eight years I've spent at my job, I've had the pleasure of teaching many people to knit. It's exciting to help transform a student from someone who wants to try a new skill but has doubts that she'll be able to do it, into someone who is doing it.

For that matter, teaching knitting has transformed me in a way, too. When my boss first suggested that I take on some of the lessons at the shop, I was reluctant. I doubted my ability to explain a process that, after so many years of doing it, was completely auto-pilot to me. The idea of getting frustrated and impatient with my students was worrisome. But I gave it a try, and overcame those insecurities.

Now I'm proud to say that students frequently compliment my teaching and thank me for being so patient with them. That amazes me almost as much as watching a ball of yarn turn into a garment!

Proliferation

[Recently some fellow blogging friends and I decided we could all benefit from giving each other writing prompts to nudge our blogs out of their comfort zones. This week Maria gave us the topic "proliferation." Here's my take on that.]

Back in my Cold War childhood and teen years, everybody was worried about nuclear proliferation. This was before there was a second "u" in "nuclear," which seems like a long time ago, indeed. Fear of WW III didn't exactly keep me up at night, but it was something every kid knew about, like breakdancing or the Pepsi Challenge.

Songs about nuclear proliferation abounded during my adolescence, and we never said, "Wow, another song about nuclear war? Weird!" because it wasn't weird, it was something that was on people's minds every day. It was as legit a scary song topic as horror movies or teenage pregnancy. Even in songs not specifically about the Cold War, artists would often reach for a related metaphor. They couldn't help themselves! It was just too easy! ("Don't say you're easy on me/ You're about as easy as a nuclear war."--Duran Duran)

Probably the height of this pop culture paranoia was ABC's 1983 made-for-TV movie The Day After. The movie was controversial for graphically portraying the aftermath of a Soviet nuclear attack on the United States. I was in ninth grade at the time, and in the days leading up to the much-hyped broadcast, there was a lot of buzz about whether or not kids, even mature Young Adults like ourselves, should watch it. (Personally, I didn't, and still haven't.)

 

I know what you're thinking: "They pre-empted Hardcastle & McCormick for that?!"

The movie sparked a lot of conversation around school, even among those of us who didn't watch. I won't claim that my fellow freshman and I were politically savvy about the Cold War AT ALL. We mostly debated whether either side would ever dare to press the button. There wasn't much agreement on that point. But we did reach one consensus: we felt lucky to live where we lived.

Our town was adjacent to the base that served as headquarters for the Strategic Air Command, where many of our dads (including mine) worked. What this meant, according to school rumors (and maybe this was actually true), was that in the event of a Soviet attack on the U.S., our town would be the second to be bombed (after Washington, D.C.).

We saw this as a positive thing. First, it made us feel important. Being junior high students in the midwest, we had no cultural clout, nothing that made us cool. But to believe that our town was significant enough that someone would want to destroy it--that was really something! On a more practical level, our bombability comforted us because we knew we wouldn't have to deal with the horrors of a nuclear attack's aftermath--being basically at ground zero, we would all die instant, painless deaths. Whew!

When I describe all this here, it sure sounds like a twisted, depressing time to grow up in. But aren't all eras twisted and depressing in their own way? Kids today have to practice drills about what to do in case of a shooting spree, something we couldn't even have imagined when I was growing up, but they still go about their business of being kids. Each generation has its own weird crap to deal with, and all anybody can do is adapt and get through it the best we can, and maybe write droll blog posts about it later.

My true calling

Right now at my workplace, we're fostering some kittens. To get the word out about them so we can help them find permanent homes, for the past few weeks part of my job has been to play with kittens, take pictures of them, and write about them for the shop's blog and Facebook page.

People, THIS IS THE JOB I WAS BORN TO DO.

 

The kittens in question.

Seriously. It's hard to imagine anything more fun or rewarding for me than this. I get to hang out with cute animals and help people adopt them. I get to write. And take pictures. And promote a small business.

I know a lot of people would rather get a root canal than have to do social media all day, but it comes really easily to me. Maybe it's because I grew up far away from extended family and have moved a lot--keeping in touch with people is a skill I developed pretty early in life. So if I can do that and accomplish some good for the shop, our customers, and our community (including its four-legged members) at the same time, what's not to like?

Meet Mod Betty!

This weekend I had the great pleasure to spend some time with the fabulous Mod Betty of Retro Roadmap. MB and I met a couple of years ago on Facebook via our mutual friend Rich (of Cheap Red Wine), who just knew we'd hit it off. And he was right! This is the second time MB and I have met in person, and it was a fun evening of music (we were at MB's husband's gig) and great conversation.

With Retro Roadmap, Mod Betty is dedicated to shining the spotlight on "cool vintage places and retro fun." I love the work she's doing because it combines so many of my interests--road trips, random/wacky old stuff, and independent businesses. How FUN!

Check out Retro Roadmap to help you plan your summer vacation. Eat at old diners, stay at classic motels, take pictures of weird signs...see all the unique things the highways and back roads of America still have to offer if you know where to look.

Please support Retro Roadmap and let Mod Betty know you appreciate the work she's doing. Leave a comment on her blog, like RR on Facebook, follow RR on Twitter, buy some swag! And if you know of a cool old place Retro Roadmap needs to check out, please tell Mod Betty about it.

Finished: Porch curtain

First, thank you all for the well wishes for Mimi. I'm thrilled (and honestly, shocked) to report that the antibiotic worked wonders and she appears to have made a complete recovery! We're so relieved. For a few days there we began to wonder if she was...well, you know. I tried to get a picture of her earlier tonight, but she wouldn't hold still long enough to pose. She's back to her normal feisty self!

Meanwhile, I'm still catching up on my backlog of posts that I didn't finish during the period when my blog was attacked by evil spambots. Here's a look at the porch curtain I made last month to block the sun from my face during outdoor dinners:

Now we can enjoy the setting sun without having to, well, see it or feel it or anything. I'm really happy with the curtain and I think it adds to the cafe atmosphere of that end of the porch.

And here it is in daytime mode, allowing plenty of light to shine on my little tomato plant there in the green pot in the corner (yes, my black thumb and I are attempting to grow an actual crop):

When it's not needed for shade, the curtain is just tied around the middle with a ribbon. Nothing tricky, but it gets the job done!