17 November 2008
Writing the Ship
Posted by mattmorrill under: research .
Monday I had a meeting with my adviser. He said I was making good progress and had good sources, but I don’t feel that confident after this week. Tuesday I continued to tweak my outline until I had a solid one for my chapter. I started writing on Wednesday, and got through a pretty solid into to the chapter. The real danger for this chapter is straying too far from my overall thesis topic. I want to set the stage for my discussion about Merchants Square with a brief overview of Williamsburg before the Restoration, but I’m worried that this may be too much of a tangent. At the same time, I think it’s important to understand Williamsburg so the reader will get a better idea of the changes as a result of the Restoration. I think I really need to focus on commercial life and what Duke of Gloucester Street was like in this section for it to really be effective.
The rest of the chapter is going to focus on W.A.R. Goodwin’s plan for the Restoration the decision he, Rockefeller and staff architects made to concentrate businesses in Merchants Square. The problem is, I haven’t done a ton of research on Goodwin yet, and although I think I have enough for the chapter, I’m not sure the depth of my knowledge will be enough.
Writing itself is going slower than I anticipated. I’m hoping it picks up once I get rolling, but right now I feel like I’m still trying to get in rhythm. I’ll dedicate a lot of time this week to at least get words on paper. As long as I put something down I can always go back and revise. I just don’t want to be bogged down with writer’s block.
Ok, so goals for the week:
1. Have at least 10 pages written by this time next Sunday.
2. Patch any holes in my research that need shoring up.
3. Don’t fail my other classes.
3 Comments so far...
cameron Says:
17 November 2008 at 3:25 pm.
Good luck with the writing rhythm, that’s exactly what I’m hoping to find. In terms of the overview of Williamsburg before Restoration, I think that sounds like an excellent idea and should set up the background nicely. I wouldn’t call it a tangent because it deals directly in the decisions that you are studying. It probably could become too long, but it might be a good idea to write a thorough background or overview, and then cut it down later to make it more concise and palatable.
Katherine Says:
17 November 2008 at 11:13 pm.
Good idea setting tangible goals for yourself- I think I’ll actually do the same. It sounds like a good plan to introduce the reader to Williamsburg before Restoration. That way, the reader will have knowledge about the needs and structure of the community before and after Restoration, which will feed nicely into your discussion of Merchants Square. It sounds like you’ll be focusing on features relevant to your topic, so go for it!
jmlewi Says:
19 November 2008 at 8:55 pm.
I tried to start writing last week, and it was definitely slow going–it took me like 2 hours to write a page. It’s daunting to begin such a large project, especially starting in the middle. I also feel you on lacking info, but I think sometimes it’s hard to know what you’re missing until you get to it.
I think your idea to introduce Williamsburg sounds good. I think every bit of each chapter doesn’t have to be directly relevant to the overarching thesis as long as it’s relevant to the main argument of that chapter.
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