Okay, there’s at least one fellow academic who’s following this, so I’m going to try for a bit of detail, although I don’t promise (threaten?) that all my coming entries will be this long.
So, the book I’m reading is Advice for New Faculty Members by Robert Boice. I read some excerpts from it (they can be found here) while surfing around on a break during my fieldwork, and resolved to get myself a copy.
Now, I know I’m not new faculty or anything, but the whole second section is on writing and I like it for a few reasons: First, it assumes that you already have stuff to say, which I do. Second, it is about process, which is where I’m weak, not about style or any of the other many things that writing advice books can be about.
Boice actually did a fair amount of study of writing (he is a psychologist), and from that he identified exemplar writers and struggling ones. The third and probably main reason why I find this book well suited to me is that I already practice a number of the habits of exemplar writers. Many, except the important one of consistency! I think I’m probably an exemplar writer trapped in an underachiever’s mindset (you can pretty much sum up my entire primary and secondary school report comments with “has a great deal of potential if only she would apply herself”). So, I look forward to working through the exercises in this book to develop the more positive processes I already engage in, and find strategies to overcome the bad habits and impeding mentalities that hold me back. We shall see how well it works :)
Anyway, I achieved yesterday’s goals, although my 40/20s looked a little more like 40/40s. For the mindful waiting, I did some yoga breathing (not much) and then I sat down and just ruminated non-verbally on the topic. Then I started talking out loud as though I was explaining it to someone (this is a thing Boice suggests that I haven’t done before, but since I’ve found myself managing to mention my research to almost every person I meet, and then often getting into extended conversations on it, I figured I’m already half way there, and a little directed version of it would be worth a try even if it seems silly).
It was more helpful than I expected, and I quickly transitioned to making notes in my notebook, and then to freewriting an outline based on three main points from the notes. I easily filled the 15 minutes he recommends for this exercise.
Because I’ve been feeling a bit blocked, I’ve decided to start out slow, and just do freewriting exercises for writing for the next few days or weeks, and then use the rest of the workday for “cleaning house”: getting files organized, setting up transcriptions and looking through notes and data. I figure that this will get my thoughts going on my data, and give me the fodder for my freewriting. So today I joined all of my outstanding transcripts (transcribed by my wonderful research assistant) with the associated audiofiles in a program that allows me to easily code and sort them. And that brings me up to the end of my academic goals for today.
For tomorrow:
Writing:
-mindful waiting
-freerewrite of OK outline
-freewrite of broader chapter outline
Other academic work:
-2 40/20 cycles (one reading/organizing notes on funeral; one reading notes on other funerals)
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Way to go! You are off to a stellar start. What is the program you use for coding/sorting your transcripts? I have only done 4 interviews so far but I am dreading transcribing them. One interview was 6 hours!! And I definitely can’t afford to pay an assistant.
Also – this is a bit off-topic, but I am looking around for a book that has some advice on interview techniques. So far my interviews are going well but sometimes I feel like the questions I ask are too simplistic, and I get simplistic answers in return…I feel like I am not tapping into stories or anecdotes that I know are there! So, before I do too many more I need some tips!
Thanks Sharon! Do you have a Mac? My program is for the mac.
As for interviews, I’m not really sure about good books. I didn’t really have access to stuff like that, but I know just what you’re talking about. Interviewing is difficult! I found that I got a lot better at it with experience. The things that worked for me were:
I hope that’s a little helpful, and not to much what you already know or what is completely irrelevant.
Thanks Carmen! I have an old-fashioned PC. I know on the Savage Minds blog they have some reviews of various programs, I’ll have to check that out more closely.
Thanks for the interview tips!! I agree about not taking notes – I just rely on my recorder and hope for the best. I think it is one of those things that just takes practice. I got lucky with my first two interviews because the people were great story-tellers and they just went off on many wonderful, anecdote-laden tangents. My third interview was good but the person really expected a question-answer format, and the answers he gave were very perfunctory – succinct and to the point. I guess I have to not stress out about getting everything at once – I don’t need to drain these people for every bit of information possible, (not yet at least)!! I do see many of them again and again, so it’s not like it’s a one-shot deal, for the most part. Also, your first point is the most helpful for me. I think I need to take some time to step back and figure out what I need to know. I have some themes and issues that I want to cover, of course, but I still feel like I don’t know exactly what it is that I want to get at, apart from the obvious experiences of redevelopment/relocation/return. I am going to a cottage this weekend so hopefully I will be able to re-focus!
I have to say that I really love fieldwork. Often I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing, but I love being out there in the world, meeting people, having long conversations, and feeling like I’m getting stuff done. SO MUCH BETTER THAN CLASSES!!
I definitely agree that one has to resist stressing over everything all at once. I’ve been re-reading my notes lately, and it’s amazing how much good stuff is there from back in the days where I was feeling like I hadn’t managed to get started yet.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying fieldwork. I definitely want to try an “at home” project someday. I think fieldwork that didn’t come with a total shift in habitus would be awesome :)