How Novel! (Or, A Dispatch from the Research Trenches.) (oh, and textiles!)

Hello all!

Gasp! Could it be? A blog post on a whim? Will wonders never cease?

Okay, so now that we're past the hokey greetings, time to get down to business. In sum and in summation, as the title might suggest, I'm knee deep in my second real novel project, which has gone through a few names in my head, and is generally called "Chile Novel" as per my Instagram profile highlight. If you would like to see me spiral out about that process in real time, you can follow along at @kathryncbratt----I can't promise you much, but for the sadists among you, it'll be entertaining at least.

How perfect is this sign I got for my door?

January was, for the novel, a wonky kind of month, partly because of getting back into the swing of my Ph.D. and partly because I was off trying to relax before said wild rumpus started. Things for the novel didn't really stabilize in terms of output until the 26th, which has kicked off a writing streak of nine days I am loathe to part with, so much so I joined a daily accountability writing group called The Grind which puts you in a randomly assigned group by genre; the only stipulation of such a group is that you are obligated to write something and send it to your fellow Grinders by midnight that night, lest you be subjected to public shaming. I've done The Grind three or four times before, all for poetry, so this is new territory entirerly. Oddly enough, I feel more on display there than I feel in sharing poetry, where I have long since given up any shame about the experiences that frame my poems. Fiction, however? Shudder. Infinitely more vulnerable for me, perhaps stemming from the fact that I haven't been as widely published in fiction and therein lies imposter syndrome about my understanding of technique. But the little voice in my head demands to be quieted, and posting incessantly about my writing projects has always galvanized me to get them done, lest face the questions by well-meaning acquaintances about abandoned projects.

I launched this year with a goal of completing a 100K draft of this Chile Novel, and, currently at 14K as of this morning, we are well on our way to that initial goal. I am stressing initial because approximately ten minutes ago, in a chat with my best friend, I made the mistake of calculating the number of sections and storylines I need to complete in order for the story's progression to make sense in my head, times that by the number of words I'm envisioning for each sections (20K for seven and then 5K for the last section & epilogue) and ended up at a cool and totally frightening 145K. Gulp. See to the right for the intended fruits of my folly. Scary as though it initially seemed, I feel galvanized. Like this is an ambitious project-----I need to be ambitious too, and ambitious on its behalf.

The book revolves around geology, and my family's experiences in Chile as part of American expat mining culture. As you might be able to deduce from my college transcripts and general demeanor, I do not have any serious training in geology and so, this book requires a veritable shitload of research. Thankfully, resources abound, and I've been able to locate most of them. Beyond resources for content, I am so lucky to be surrounded by the best network of folks who know and love me and know and love my horrible little creature creations (read: characters). They never fail to make me laugh,

see exhibit A on the left from my good friend, the poet Daniel Brennan, and exhibit B on the right from one of my best friends in the world, Karina. I don't have the happiest brain, especially when it comes to my characters, so it always makes me feel better when other people find funny things to say about them------without the laughter, it would be a lot harder to do my job, let alone do it well.

The Varshini Beanie, made of Malabrigo's Rios yarn in Magenta, Matisse Blue, and Leo.

In the spirit of transparency, it has admittedly been hard to summon enthusiasm for much beyond th things I know I'm good at, like writing and crochet. I've been steadily pumping out crafts for friends and loved ones, and before too long, it seems as though somewhat of a demand has sprung up? I now have people following my crochet account that I don't know, and that's quite thrilling. The latest creation is this original pattern that I made for a colleague at my on--campus job, the Varshini Beanie. I'm planning on, when opening for commissions (soon!), making this pattern a staple. So if you're at all interested, it's coming. Also, an original pattern, this beanie's older sister, is the Sasha Slouch Hat, made for a dear friend from my time in Bishkek.

The Sasha Slouch Hat

There's also a scarf I've completed for a friend, but as that's more a surprise, I won't include a picture here and instead will satisfy your curiosity with the promise that it shall be in the next blog post. Honestly, I find it really lovely to talk about all my various creative projects, from writing to textiles and back again.

A separate post on commissions is coming in the near future, but for the meantime, if you're interested, you can DM me for a quote based on the type of garment you'd like-----after I finish up this post, I'm hoping to go in and make a gallery of crocheted goods for people to peruse. Here's hoping the crochet side hustle is actually viable and I can afford the occasional apple.

Back to real life----reading about Soviet mass mobilization in WW2 awaits.

Till next time,

Kat