February is for Finishing, So January is for Evaluation
THE BASIC IDEA
The title sounds far more ominous than it really is. It starts with knitting. The knitting community I'm part of says that "February is for Finishing". By this we mean that (because of alliteration) you commit to only working on projects in progress for the month of February, with an emphasis on trying to complete as many as you can. For some people, that's easy. For others with "startitis" (the inability to resist the urge to start something new) that's almost impossible.
It's also a chance to sit down and evaluate what you've got going on. (Usually during January, right? It dovetails nicely with that whole new year thing, too.) So you pull out all your projects, maybe sort your needles, update your Ravelry notebook with new pictures and information and then make some decisions.
For each project, you ask "do I still want to do this?"
Your options are:
Depending on how you answer, you either put it neatly where you can get to it, you rip it all out and salvage the yarn, or you pull out the needles and notions and then pitch the rest in the trash.
I've barely knit at all this past year (my recently started navy blue Medici hat is probably the most I've knit at one time in at least ten months) but it's tradition and I miss it and it's as good a way as any to get me back into it. So be on the lookout (probably tomorrow afternoon) for a full accounting of all the fiber-y things.
So, challenge the first (if you're a knitter/crafter):
AND THEN THERE WAS THE FIC
If my knitting supplies/projects/collections are a mess? My writing folders are more so. Camp NaNo, November NaNo, not actually stopping writing during the four months in between and OMG where the hell did those muses and bunnies come from -- it all adds up to an unholy mess barely corralled by Scrivener.
It occurs to me that the same procedures and processes I use for knitting can be applied to any other creative pursuit.
So I'm also going to do this, and offer it up as a second challenge:
The title sounds far more ominous than it really is. It starts with knitting. The knitting community I'm part of says that "February is for Finishing". By this we mean that (because of alliteration) you commit to only working on projects in progress for the month of February, with an emphasis on trying to complete as many as you can. For some people, that's easy. For others with "startitis" (the inability to resist the urge to start something new) that's almost impossible.
It's also a chance to sit down and evaluate what you've got going on. (Usually during January, right? It dovetails nicely with that whole new year thing, too.) So you pull out all your projects, maybe sort your needles, update your Ravelry notebook with new pictures and information and then make some decisions.
For each project, you ask "do I still want to do this?"
Your options are:
- A. Yes, I love it, I'll keep working on it. (An alternate interpretation might be "I hate it, but I have two more rows dammit, I'm not giving up now"
- B. I love the yarn. The pattern sucks and I want it to suffer.
- C. Kill it. Kill it with fire. (Or at least throw it in the trash can. What was I thinking?!)
Depending on how you answer, you either put it neatly where you can get to it, you rip it all out and salvage the yarn, or you pull out the needles and notions and then pitch the rest in the trash.
I've barely knit at all this past year (my recently started navy blue Medici hat is probably the most I've knit at one time in at least ten months) but it's tradition and I miss it and it's as good a way as any to get me back into it. So be on the lookout (probably tomorrow afternoon) for a full accounting of all the fiber-y things.
So, challenge the first (if you're a knitter/crafter):
- Pull out all your projects-in-progress
- Make a list of them - blog about it, give yourself accountability (as well as a record of your pursuits -- if you're trying to get the most items completed by the end of February, you can rank them by how much it will take to finish them)
- For each item, decide:
- Keep/Continue
- Frog(Rip out) and save yarn
- Toss or give away to a new home
- Return to your blog, and lay out your new list of projects in process. Make sure that you have all the things you need to work on them (additional yarn, the right needles, the pattern(s) and etc.
- Commit to only working on projects from your list (i.e., projects in progress) during the month of February and go through your list and finish as many projects as you can.
AND THEN THERE WAS THE FIC
If my knitting supplies/projects/collections are a mess? My writing folders are more so. Camp NaNo, November NaNo, not actually stopping writing during the four months in between and OMG where the hell did those muses and bunnies come from -- it all adds up to an unholy mess barely corralled by Scrivener.
It occurs to me that the same procedures and processes I use for knitting can be applied to any other creative pursuit.
So I'm also going to do this, and offer it up as a second challenge:
- Make a list of all your fics in progress (including, if you like, ideas that you've written notes on or feel strongly enough about that you know you'll work on them in the coming year)
- Blog about it, if you like, to give yourself accountability (as well as a ready reference)
- Determine where you are in the project: do you just have notes? actual chunks of fic written? is it a draft that just needs some editing and a beta? is it ready to post and you've just been sitting on it?
- Then decide:
- Keep/Continue
- Abandon the story/idea (without guilt) either by deleting it, storing it, or just posting what you've done as random snippets
- "Toss" the file in the recycle bin
- Return to your blog, and lay out your new list of projects in process -- if you're really feeling froggy, a meme like this one, where you give a single sentence for each fic, might be a fun way to record them
- Go through your list and finish/post as many things off the list as you can.