I have been pondering writing and knitting because these are two things I have spent a lot of time doing. So I have a lot of thoughts about how they can be similar.
When you knit a blanket center out you start, at the center, as the name implies. Often you start with some very small number like 8 stitches. And then as you go and it gets bigger.
One of the things I like about center out is that it starts small, so it doesn't seem like a big commitment. If you start knitting a blanket along one edge, even a shorter edge, it takes more than eight stitches. It pretty quickly becomes a large project.
Whereas center out, you can sort of pretend, well maybe I'm only knitting a small thing. Because in theory, if you stop and bind off, it is a thing. A knitted napkin perhaps. And then it gets to baby blanket sized. And then lap blanket. And if you keep going, then adult blanket sized.
And writing, particularly if you pants, can be like that. Some stories are just flash or short stories. Some are novellas or novelettes. Some are epics. And sometimes you start out writing what you think is a small thing, but the story expands. And sometimes what seems like a very grand idea wraps up quite quickly. And then you have to decide to either accept that, or add more yarn/plot to make it bigger.
And, when you are knitting center out, often, unless you have endlessly large needles, you can only sort of see how big thr project has become. And then you begin binding off and discover you have made this large thing.
And sometimes, sitting down and telling yourself you have only committed to a small goal, is how you get ready for a big, epic project. The story ends when you say it does after all. Any time you want it too.
