Writing and Knitting

I've just discovered that the sweater I've been knitting for Peter--and nearly finished--is too small and the sleeves are too tight. So i've been unraveling a considerable amount of gray wool yarn and working up the energy and will to try again. That may take a while!

It's as if I'd written an entire novel and then discovered that the plot was all wrong or that the characters didn't fit. The feat of unraveling 30,000-50,000 words is daunting. I'm saved from that by belonging to a critique group who will listen to chunks of what I'm writing and give me feedback and support. No need to wait until the whole book is done. I can unravel as I go along, sometimes more than once over the same chunk. I also learn as I hear how others have unraveled something that was giving them trouble the week before.

Writing and knitting--weaving words and stitches in combinations and patterns that work together and end up as a perfect fit. That's the goal. To get things right, it takes a lot of hard work, patience and perseverance--and unraveling.

Revision

A week or so ago I received a editor's rejection of my mid-grade historical novel. It was a positive rejection. "We found the quality of your writing excellent, with original and lively characters and setting." What writer wouldn't enjoy reading those words?

However, (there always seems to be a however) the editor had decided not to publish the manuscript at this time, but indicated that she'd be willing to look at it again if I revised the ending. She felt it closed in "an awkward place."

I'm, of course, willing to revise. But what specifically is awkward about the closing? Is it inconclusive? Up in the air? There was no clue in the letter. I've written to ask for more details and am waiting for some direction. In the meantime, I'm pondering how to make the story's ending less awkward. Should something more happen to Hannah, the main character? Should her Blackfeet friends leave? Should more sheep die in the mountains where she's been charged with their care? This coming week, I plan to dive back into Hannah's world and figure out what needs to be added or changed. I hope to emerge with a better, more satisfying conclusion to her story.