A kind of final draft

Drafts are never really final are they? You just stop editing them at some point. I've been exchanging drafts of thesis chapters with my professor and there's alway something new to add, a way of re-phrasing a sentence. It's not at all bothersome. In fact it's a relief to be more than two weeks from that day circled on my calendar, "Draft to Committee!" and be in a kind of final draft. I think that final drafts are really just a myth. At some point we'll say "that's enough, lets move on." we'll have the "sufficient draft". Then the committee will spend their two weeks with it. We'll all gather for the day of torture (or the defense if you like) and then my professor and I will spend another 2 weeks exchanging drafts that incorporate a selection of committee comments and edits until we again decide enough is enough and then we have the "sufficiently final draft" which will be printed, bound and cataloged in both the university and departmental libraries to take up 1 inch of shelf space, gather dust, and be universally forgotten.

Somedays it helps to work at not thinking that far ahead....

Pursuing inspiration

Productivity has been lacking this week in the writing department. It's final draft time for my thesis and after getting a head of schedule last week progress came close to stand still this week. It didn't help that I spent the last two days many miles away from my computer. I stole the husbands day off and employed him as a "volunteer" field assistant at my research site one day, doing the needed fall (and final) maintenance around my study plots. Spend the next (and significantly longer) day at my professors field sites doing that end of season maintenance. I thought today would move me forward, but it seems to be a day of delay, followed by interruption, then a dash of distraction, and a lab-mates thesis defense to round out the afternoon. Not a bad day, but I haven't been able to retreat to that place in my head that makes slogging through another chapter of my thesis a desirable prospect. In pursuit of writing inspiration I cracked open my field notebook and found the passage I wrote so many months ago after long work days spend in only my own company. It's not too bad considering the funny mental state I always get in after that much exhaustion and isolation:

Machete Therapy - Mower broke after about an hour work, so I spent the next 5 or so swinging the machete. It reminds me of a hard up hill backpacking trip. After the first few minutes the pain and difficulty make you think the task is impossible. Then your body melts into the movement, and all is fluid and possible. There were uplifted moments when I thought the task seemed at hand and then....

It really is a vile plant, this weed of mine. Oh to live to see it's pestilent form wiped from the landscape. It makes me question all the truths I've learned in ecology. Surely there can be no balance with this plant, no divine purpose for its existence. There is no ecology I can imagine where its presence would be welcome. And yet I toil in its shadow like a slave to it's robust but chaste nature. A wasteful contradictory plant that makes slaves of man, strips utility from the soil, and defaces the landscape with it's domineering monoculture. What an evil, conniving plant, this weed of mine.

I suppose it's as close to a motivational speech as I'm gonna find this late on a friday afternoon.....

This is what's wrong with America

"Twitterature"

Let me say it again, just so we're all clear:

This is exactly what is wrong with this damn country - Twitterature!

The twits at Penguin publishing have commission two 19 year old twits to whittle  some of the greatest book even written into 20 "tweets" so the inept twits of our society have no reason to learn about literary structure and imagery.  

I hate cliff notes.  

I loath abridged stories.  

There isn't even a word for how awful I think this is.  

It's more than just giving student a easy way to get a C-grade in english classes.  Giving people these short cuts starves their mind of the amazing experience of reading these incredible works of fiction.  It's no wonder they have to focus on books with dead authors, no self respecting author would allow two teenaged twits to condense the essence of their writing into 20 "tweets"!!

I may never purchase a book published by Penguin again.  Whoever is responsible for this decision clearly has no respect for literature or education.

We should all be screaming right now.

Thesis writing, what's your method?

I've asked a few people lately about the status of their thesis or if they've already received their degree how the attacked writing their masters thesis.  I've gotten wildly different answers that seem to have no correlation to the achievements or prowess of the student.  I'm wondering is the writing method (by this I mean when you begin, how often you ask for editing, what the timing of reading lit and writing related chapters was, and so on) typically dictated by a persons professor or by personal motivation? And does the writing method reflect a persons dedication or work ethic?  

It may seem trivial to some, but I don't think it is.  Even though few grad students would admit it we are in constant pursuit of approval from our professors and academic mentors, and writing (quality and quantity) is the one standard that all academics are judged by.  Is it much of a stretch to assume that graduate students are also judged by their writing method in addition to the quality of the end product?

I had to laugh when a post-doc who is widely recognized as exceptional told me they wrote their entire masters thesis in the last three months of their program.  Many other people I talk to seem to approach it by reading for 6-10 months, a period of time that overlaps with the beginning of the research project, and then beginning writing after they feel comfortable in their level of knowledge.  This seems logical.  It's not the method I've used (more on that later) but very logical and less time consuming in the long run.

Some people might say there is no wrong way to approach writing a thesis, by I don't agree.  Others might suggest that it depends on the writer and what method is best for their work habits and individual program.  This seems plausible, but I think there is another factor being ignored, and that is the writing method of our advisor.  I think this has the greatest effect on how we approach the writing of our thesis.  And it's funny that our advisors to some degree control our writing method and also judge us on that method.  I can see how for some people this could create conflict and stress, and that should be recognised by the student and advisor so that a compromise on writing method can be reached. 

The writing method that I've been guided to use has actually suited me very well.  I think it may be a bit unusual, but I began writing my thesis the very first day of grad school.  I've been in a constant state of revision since then, and I have to say it feels really good to have so much written, even though most of it will need to be re-written before I am done.  That is definitely the biggest draw-back of this method, writing takes a lot longer, because you are constant re-writing after you've modified methodology or refined your understanding.

But from all my discussions and thinking about thesis writing I have come up with five basic rules for writing a masters thesis (I'm not really qualified to comment on writing a dissertation)

1. Read first.  Start reading your first day and never stop. 
2. Go by the guidelines. Get the graduate school guidelines for thesis format your first week (and read them thoroughly)
3. Write early. Begin writing your thesis before the end of the 3rd month (even if it's just outlining research questions and methods)
4. Make deadlines. After you've gotten into the writing groove (say 4-5 months into your degree) start making yourself deadlines for chapter drafts (and hold yourself to them even if it means putting in extra hours or putting off other work).
5. Edit often. Have your drafts edited by your professor as often as you can.  This may be the most difficult of all due to the busy schedule of all professors.   A professor should never take on so many students or extra responsibilities that they can't assist each student in thesis draft editing.  Sometimes a thorough edit (by someone other than the author) is the only thing that can move a draft forward.  Make it worth their time by working hard on your draft and workout the deadlines with them a head of time so that you aren't giving them a draft when they are to stressed to give it proper attention.

Catharsis

One week left of term and the veil of procrastination has been lifted.  Writing term papers (ie paper that should take a term to write) in a short period of time (like a week) can be a form of catharsis.  Dumping every thought and applicable strand of information out through your fingers and into the computer gives me a feeling of being lighter and emptier when finished.  I still wish I hadn't procrastinated, but at least there is an upside to the stress and pressure I've subjected myself to.

Phillip Lopate poem

I was digging around in a desk drawer for ibuprofen (yes it's one of those days) and found a printout of a Phillip Lopate poem that I used to have hanging above my monitor at my old job. Though I'm not usually one for poetry (with the exception of AA Milne) I've loved this poem since I first encountered it in the great book Bird by Bird. It seemed like a perfect thing to share on a Thursday afternoon.

We Who Are Your Closest Friends
Phillip Lopate

We who are
your closest friends
feel the time
has come to tell you
that every Thursday
we have been meeting,
as a group,
to devise ways
to keep you
in perpetual uncertainty
frustration
discontent and
torture
by neither loving you
as much as you want
nor cutting you adrift.
Your analyst is
in on it,
plus your boyfriend
and your ex-husband;
and we have pledged
to disappoint you
as long as you need us.
In announcing our
association
we realize we have
placed in your hands
a possible antidote
against uncertainty
indeed against ourselves.
But since our Thursday nights
have brought us
to a community
of purpose
rare in itself
with you as
the natural center,
we feel hopeful you
will continue to make unreasonable
demands for affection
if not as a consequence
of your disastrous personality
then for the good of the collective.

The Power of Positive Editing

It's amazing how a few positive comments can make your day.  A edited draft can be covered in red ink from cover to cover and a few positive comments on your writing style or the way you worded a few paragraphs make all the difference.  Even just an underlined phrase with the word "Nice" written next to it is all it take to give you that pleased little smile and satisfied feeling.  It's amazing how much power is in the editors pen, there is certainly truth to that old saying about the pen and the sword.