By Susan Remson

I recently added a new list of vocabulary words to my personal dictionary. I acquired these words in eight weeks by taking a class at my local museum. It was not a writing class; the class was called "How to Weave on a Four Harness Loom." During those eight weeks I not only made a table runner, which I proudly display on my dining room table, I learned the difference between warp and weft, and how to thread a heddle, identify a shaft, and sley a reed.

Yes, sley a reed. I used to think it would be cool to slay a dragon; now I am content with knowing how to sley a reed. I also have new meanings for beater, castle, beam, and dents. The best thing about the class may have been how it stimulated my brain. Weaving seems to be the right combination of right-brain and left-brain activities for my ambivalent gray matter.

The class also reminded me of advice I once heard from a writer. "Go learn something new," she said. "It helps when you get stuck. And if it doesn't help your writing, at least you will be doing something to keep your mind busy." Not only does it keep your mind busy, it creates new connections, and allows you to see things from a different perspective. It gives you new things to write about. It also provides you with a whole new set of metaphors.

As a writer, that's a great bonus. I have already used a few weaving metaphors, one in an article on how our local museum weaves education and culture into the fabric of our community. In another article, I tell how a review of my phone log recreates the fabric of my day, recording good news, bad news, as well as trivia. Our phone logs, calendars, and PDA's all show this, but I was able to use the correct technical terms for the process.

Our lives are woven from a variety of threads-- light and dark, thick and thin, rough and smooth-- to create the material of our lives. No one lives in a plain weave white cotton world. No one lives in a vacuum, although I sometimes wonder whether my writing would be better if I did. In a vacuum, it would be quiet. I could write undisturbed by the phone or the doorbell. I wouldn't be distracted by the noise coming from my neighbor's garage, or run to the window to see if the helicopter flying overhead will land in my backyard. On the other hand, what would I write about? I would have to explore those thoughts banging around in my own head, or write about the rhythms of my day, which may not interest anyone but me.

It's like that right-brain, left-brain conflict I have within myself. Sometimes I am logical and sometimes intuitive. Sometimes I work better from written instructions; other times you have to show me before I get it. Mostly, I prefer to plan ahead and am more comfortable in a structured environment, but once in a while, I want to go with the flow, ride with the tide. Sometimes I want to write in a closet; other times I want to sit in a coffee shop and observe the world. I can be analog or digital, like my cable TV plan, at least for now.

I have been a technical writer for many years. I spent most of my career being logical, writing instruction manuals, technical support sheets and analyzing data. These days, I try to write from a different side of my brain-- and from my heart. And on those days that the writing doesn't come, I weave. Or I take rhythmic aerobics, or just walk down to the beach and watch children playing in the water. It may not help my writing, but it makes me feel better, and puts my current project into perspective. I also think it improves my writing.

So when the going gets tough, shift gears for a while. Use a different set of vocabulary words and find new metaphors. And if you want to know what it means to sley a reed, take a weaving class. I think you'll like it.

Since retiring from the biotechnology field, Susan Remson continues to write on technical as well as non-technical topics. She has published in Chicago Parent, Lilith Magazine, and writes a periodic column for her local newspaper. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin.

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