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Dear Australia and New Zealand,

December 1, 2011

I have mailed you an early Christmas/Hannukah gift! It's the Down Under release of my collection of essays, A LIFE IN STITCHES! Out today! (Okay, I think it comes out next week for the Kiwis, but today is the day in the country with kangaroos!) It took many, many trips to the post office, and I've run out of packing tape, but I hope all your bookstores are pleased with the new delivery.

HarperCollins Australia ordering links HERE and you can get it digitally HERE.

(Unrelated aside — as a half-Kiwi myself, I've noticed that many Americans think New Zealand has kangaroos and/or Koala bears. It does not. It DOES however, have, well, Kiwis. Both countries have many indigenous knitters. You can often spot them in the wild, leaping over fences and scurrying along at the sides of country roads, needles clenched firmly between their teeth, racing toward the nearest yarn shop. (We have them over here, too.))

And look! Our own Knitty Amy Singer's quote is on the front cover! WOOOT!

I hope you enjoy it. xoxo Rachael

On Pedestrians

November 29, 2011

Oh, it's foggy today, so lovely and drippy and heavy and dark, and I LOVE IT. This is my favorite time of year, and November is my favorite month. The trees are just now turning (we do have lovely colors here, just not in such abundance as other places) and the roads are shiny and everything is just so pretty.

I'm at the cafe, about to get my write on, but I just had a nice thing happen, and I thought I'd tell you about it. It was a tiny moment. While driving down Bancroft, I stopped for an older man who was waiting at the crosswalk. Now, I'm great at stopping for pedestrians. I believe people on foot have as much right to cross the street as I have to drive it, and unfortunately, sometimes that translates into total impatience when I'm the one waiting to walk across the street. I'm one of those people who marches into the crosswalk, feigning indifference to the cars. I'm never actually indifferent; I stop walking and don't get in front of them if they don't stop for me. I don't have a death wish, but I like to give drivers a little scare if they don't stop, a little oh-crap-shoulda-seen-her moment. I expect drivers to stop, and I know it shows in my walk. I give a little flip of the hand, a terse "thanks" with no real gratitude.

So a few moments ago, I stopped for the older man. I slowed early and waved at him to let him know I saw him.

He crossed. While he was crossing, he grinned hugely and waved at me. That was nice. I sat up straighter and smiled, waving back.

Then, when he got to the median, he turned around and gave me an even happier wave. It was lovely. I wanted to stop the car and get out and hug him, but that would have been taking the whole pedestrian/driver contract way too far. But it made me think: when I cross the street, maybe I can initiate those moments with drivers. A smile. A cheerful, thankful wave. Why is that too much to ask from myself? Yes, legally they should stop. But that doesn't prevent me from really thanking them for their courtesy. His wave and smile were just so awesome. He made my day and won't ever know it.

There. I took a seven second exchange and made it into 400 words. I can tell I'm doing the final pretty-word-pass of the current manuscript, reading it on my Kindle, because I'm craving the actual writing.

(If you haven't had enough of me, I'm also up at the PensFatales today, talking about leftovers.)

(Also, it's 9:26am, and there's a full on first coffee date happening in front of me. It's cute, but if that nice boy doesn't stop talking about nothing but himself, the pretty girl isn't going to call him back, I'm just saying. Friendly tip.)

Updates and Swings

November 28, 2011

Good morning! For you US people, happy day-back-to-work-after-a-holiday day. I know it's Cyber Monday, but let's not talk about that. (Oh, actually. Let's talk about that just for a minute. I've gotten really used to doing all my holiday shopping on Amazon — it's seriously easy for a shift worker who hates stores at the best time of year, which this is not. But do you know what else is easy? Taking that shopping list out of Amazon and plopping it into an email to my local independent bookstore, Laurel Bookstore, and having them order everything for me. Yes, it's more money. Amazon gives such a deep discount on everything it's hard to argue with them. And I love my Kindle. But I'm going to argue with them about this. This year, I'm putting my money where my mouth is, and keeping my cash local. This feels good and right.)

Down from the soapbox! Over to the Update Corner!

1. I've been writing a lot. I'm just about done with the book I've been working on, and I'm about to start another. This is, perhaps, my favorite part of writing, that point where the current work is almost as good as I can get it on my own, and the point where I'm dreaming about the plot of the next one, poking at it when I think I can get away with it (my conscious brain says, No! Don't plot while you're still finishing this one! but my unconscious says Add ponies to the next book! And explosions!).

2. I've been knitting, yes, but nothing very interesting. More important, I've been SPINNING. I'm spinning up a gorgeous 3-ply DK weight yarn in the most lovely natural gray Polwarth that I bought at SOAR about five years ago from a Canadian vendor who now appears closed (Rovings, anyone? Their website doesn't work anymore). I have 900 grams of it. SO MUCH GORGEOUS FIBER. I know the sweater I'll make from it will be cabled, but beyond that, I'm letting the ideas percolate.

3. Um, that might be it. The house is mostly clean. The animals are mostly fine (Digit is still an ass). I'm getting better at sleeping in when I can, and I'm practicing as much as I can. I'm still a Very Bad Relaxer, but I think I was born this way, I'm sorry.

4. I got to swing on a swing the other day (an unexpected swing! Found while walking the dogs on a hill just above our house!).

Unexpected swings might be my new favorite thing.

How to Revise Your Novel

November 21, 2011

First, before you worry about starting to revise, FINISH THE NOVEL. This is your most important duty. Just finish. No excuses.

“You can fix a bad page; you can’t fix a blank one.” – Nora Roberts

Then, dance around for a while! You’re done! Put it away and read a good book or two. Come back later.

REVISION (aka The Fun Stuff)

1. Acceptance: everything might change, and that’s okay. Revise with an open mind.

2. Triage: assessing what needs the most work.

Find your theme (distill your book into 1-4 words. Love heals. The inevitability of loss. Family is chosen.) Print this out—attach it to your computer or somewhere you can see it often.

3. Write your one-sentence elevator pitch.

4. Write your one-paragraph book jacket blurb.

5. Print out and reread your book. (Paper is better for this than reading on computer.)

For every scene, write one sentence about what happens. (Anna arrives home, sees Paul.)

Now is not the time for line-edits—you will make those changes later. If you must, circle things that are wrong, but move through.

For every thought you have about plot/character/setting that must be fixed, make a Post-it note.

6. Mark up the sentence outline with your fix ideas. Ask yourself The Big Questions (see below). Make generous use of the Post-its method (see below).

7. Open the file.

8. “Save As” FilenameCUTS

9. Go back to original; start at first scene.

Ask yourself: Is this scene necessary? Does it do more than one thing (does it advance both plot and character development)? Start late, get out early.

If it is not exactly what you want, CUT it and place in Cuts file. Take what you want to save and move it back to working document, moving forward, sentence by sentence.

Pro-tip #1: At the end of every day, save your document as its name + date (ex: SundayMorning070511) so that you have copies of every day, in case you ever do want to revert or need to save something you cut (you won’t, but it helps a writer sleep better).

Pro-tip #2: Every day, when you sit down to work, read over all your Post-its to keep the questions/problems fresh in your mind.

10. Move forward. Ask the same difficult questions of each scene. Is there motion in both internal and external conflict? Are characters growing/changing while acting in a believable manner? Put anything that doesn’t work into the Cuts file and start again.

11. Juggle scenes as you come to them. Do not jump ahead. When you have great ideas about scenes to come, use the Post-it method. (It’s possible that when you get there, this idea won’t be right—don’t waste precious time writing it now.)

12. Remember that the beginning is the slowest. While you’re not jumping ahead to fix things, you are going backwards as you go, fixing things you’ve already worked on. But you are merely narrowing your egress. Your revision speed will pick up as you go, until by the end of the book, you’ll be flying.

13. On the last pass, concentrate on line edits. This is when you make sentences beautiful, now that you know you’re keeping them.

14. The final touches: Put the book into another form (print on paper in a new font, or put it on your Kindle). Read it aloud. Make the little changes. Check POV, grammar, spelling, repetitive words, continuity.

15. Kick it out. Send to your agent, your editor, or start writing that kick-ass query letter. Celebrate. Then start something new.

RACHAEL’S POST-IT METHOD

Buy a ton of the small Post-its (you’ll want to keep them close and handy, thus the small kind).

For every problem you need to revise, big or small, write a Post-it. These can range from character problems (Make Nolan more alpha) to plot issues (Add scene with Ollie freaking out).

Attach these to an 81/2×11 piece of paper or into the pages of your notebook, anywhere where you can see them often.

Reread them every single time you sit to work on your novel. Add/move/subtract frequently.

Remember: Big fix-its can fit on small Post-its.

THE BIG QUESTIONS

Using your sentence outline, analyze the plot. Look for holes. Can you clearly identify the inciting incident? The turning points? The black moment? The resolution?

Do internal and external conflicts, goals, and motivations intersect and collide? Are they definable? (If not, consider defining them, so you as the author know exactly what they are.)

Are your characters believable? Individual? Are their goals/motivations/conflicts compelling enough to make the reader keep turning pages?

Are the main characters directly involved in creating/fixing/changing their internal and external plot conflicts?

Can you set your story anywhere else? If you can, make the setting mesh more cohesively with the characters, to make it matter.

Falling Slowly

November 18, 2011

I just lost my mind and spent two hours recording "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova on the ukulele and accordion. Wanna hear it? It's such a great song that it's hard to completely butcher it (although I gave it my best shot). Play it here, or right-clicking on it should allow you to save and open it in iTunes.

FallingSlowly

I am reminded that I don't mind making a semi-fool of myself in public (a total fool — yes, I hate that. But I'm not shy about certain things, like having a great time making music as well as I can, all by myself).

For those who'd like the ukulele chords, they're C, F, Am, and G. Super simple.

(Also, if you haven't seen the movie "Once" from which this song is taken, you totally should.)

Graff

November 13, 2011

I'm passionate about street art, especially that done by women. Oakland is a prime place for this kind of beautification, and I've meant for a long time to find a large mural done by women graffiti artists earlier this year. We found it today, and it's even more awesome than I'd imagined. Done by seventeen female artists from all over the country, it took three days to complete.

Isn't it incredible? It's down off Mandela Parkway, at about 22nd or so. More pictures at Flickr, and this is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of it from one of the artists, TooFly from New York.