dissertation black hole

You know what a black hole is, of course. An area so dense with gravity that even light can not escape, or something to that effect. I think we have quasi-black holes in our lives, like the one in the dryer that eats one sock from every pair, and the one that eats my keys every time I'm running late for something. (That particular one never stays in one place, somehow.) These days I'm experiencing the dissertation black hole, where no matter how much time I spend working on this paper, it doesn't get much better. Sure, it's getting longer, but there's hardly anything in there I would consider worthy of someone else reading, let alone a doctoral committee. The dissertation black hole is sucking up my time and energy and effort without offering anything in return (like quality academic writing), and with no regard for my imminent deadline.

Ah, well. Is there anyone out there who enjoys writing their dissertation? If so, I haven't met you yet. And by the way, if your dissertation was so much fun the proverbial barrel of monkeys pales in comparison, you might not want to tell me about it just now because I'm just not in the mood.

At least being pregnant is preventing me from drinking bucketloads of coffee every night to work on it.

Comments

Pam said…
wow - well, i'm sure you're going to write a great paper, so just keep plugging!! :-)
Andre said…
Your dissertation chair should be helping out with this. . You shouldn't feel like it's all for naught. . The hope is that your getting some type of feedback from your committee chair.

I had the good fortune of seeing Anne Lamott yesterday. She came and spoke to our campus, and she said a couple things I like very much:

"It's okay not to know more than you do." love that. .
and
"There is nothing more damaging than certainty."

She preaches, in her words, "a theology of failure and mistakes." and yet she's published eleven books. . . she got sober at 32. . . and is a writer of international acclaim.

The thing so amazing about her is that she's able to show us that we're doing the very best we can right now.

I know it's not easy. Please keep trying. That's all any of us can do, right?
wishing you good!
Suze said…
Thanks, Andre. You know what's weird? Just before I sat down at the computer for tonight's dissertation writing (for which I warm up by reading blogs, ahem), I re-read my favorite chapter of "Bird by Bird": Shitty First Drafts. I just love love love Anne Lamott. Thanks for the encouragement!

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