Thursday, January 18, 2007

I Read....I Wrote

Finally. After days. No, weeks of not getting to do any "serious" reading for my dissertation, I have done it. I got through a simple introduction to one of my secondary sources, took notes on it, and even added on to my dissertation outline and bibliography. It's a small step, but it feels HUGE right now after the past few days of illness, school closings, etc. Even though with every source I read for my dissertation, I add a dozen more (at least!) sources to my bibliography, I feel like I'm clarifying in my head what I want to do and say in my project, how I want it to begin, what questions I want to pursue (or not), and how it stands apart from other work in the area. Indeed - and I know I'm lucky for this - the more I read, the more I realize how much of a unique and "undone" niche exists for my work. I think I can actually say that today was a good work day...and that hasn't happened in quite a while.

1 comment:

wwwmama said...

Yahoo!!!!! That's great! I know exactly what you mean about this kind of work. It's crucial to develop your thinking and confidence about the subject, and that part of the work is just as important as actual pages written, I think. (I've never been able to make progress on writing without having the thinking/feeling part develop first)