Yesterday I went to visit my advisor, and she was really positive about my draft and where I’m at. She likes the direction I’m going and has set me the task of writing 5 concise single-spaced pages on what my central themes are and a chapter-by-chapter summary. A little daunting, given that I still feel like I don’t know nearly enough about what I can write (both in terms of what my research supports and in terms of the literature that goes with it), but on the other hand, probably a good exercise given where I’m at and my goal of having a competitive book proposal by October 1st. Plus, I get the impression from talking to people who’ve written books and thesises that you never really feel like you have a full handle on everything that you can and/or should do. You just have to get started with it and figure it out along the way.

So, now the plan really focuses on getting ready for the book proposal. This week’s* goals are to hammer out these five pages, develop a good “hook” for the book, and do a little market/proposal research. Plus, of course, ongoing transcribing and note reading/organizing.

*(that is, the seven following days. I don’t really bother with starting weeks on Mondays)

Today I have:

- read two book proposals to get an idea of what they should look like

- made brainstormy notes on my “hook”

- done a short freewrite on the thesis summary based on the “hook”

I will:

- do another brainstorm/freewrite on the overarching themes and description of my thesis.

- reread notes I’ve written about previous thesis drafts

Tomorrow:

- 2 freewrites/brainstorms

- note reviewing

- market research

Filed under: writing thesis