A topic that has been heavily inflected (shame, guilt, embarassment…) and commented upon in that odd private/public media that is the blog–here quite recently. But oddly not in these terms: Does anyone else feel embarrassed about how much time and effort it takes before a reasonably good text is constructed?
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2 responses so far ↓
Lilia Efimova // Friday, September 14, 2007 at 16:57 |
I do
As with other things to be ashamed about, it’s much easier to pretend it doesn’t exist than to embrace it. And, when planning a new writing project, underestimate the time and effort it will take, and then be ashamed again that it takes longer than expected…
alaskanbeader // Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 8:44 |
It takes a stunning amount of time. While my Doctoral Dissertation took me about 9 months, the book that grew from it took me another 5 plus years, and is only now at the publisher, some 7 years after I finished up my degree, and “furthered” my study into a book.
People would ask “how much time do you spend on the project every day?” I would answer from a couple of hours to about 8 hours, when in reality, you live it twenty four hours a day, and I would often devote more than 14 to 16 hours a day on the project and writing.
For starters, ask yourself “whose expectations” are you worrying yourself about.
You are involved, and if it is actually taking more time than you thought, –so it is taking more time. But when it is finished, you will have accomplished a lot, — heaps more than many of the people giving you grief will ever do, much less attempt.
What you are doing is a tough thing, and even though it is something that you will do day-by-day the overall project is a substantial project.
Doctoral dissertations by definition make you the expert in the world on your subject — if only for a few moments. That means there is no one but you that should be able to give you “grief” over the “timing” –granted there are committee chairs, and spouses, but still you are the one that knows what you are going through.
Hang in there.