Motivating the timeline

My boys, who share way more than the same smile. The most amazing guys on the planet.

These days I’m doing most of my work from that “other” side of myself–the comparative literature PhD candidate side. My goal is to finish a full draft of my dissertation by early next spring, a very ambitious timeline for a humanities dissertation, much less one in literature.

But I’m told it can be done, and I HAVE managed to produce A LOT OF WORDS in similar amounts of time. Of course, as I explained to a writing buddy… in fiction, I can improvise. I can’t really do that to the same degree with literary criticism.

The good news is that the work is exciting and challenging. It keeps me cranking away during the day and wakes me up at night with (mostly helpful) revelations. Thanks to the elves in the back corridors of my brain who are making that happen… I don’t think I could do this without you.

To motivate myself, I have combined a favorite photo of “my boys” (because they are a big reason for wanting to get this done sooner than later) with my ambitious but achievable writing schedule. Any other brilliant ideas for staying motivated and on task? Email or comment… I’m always looking to boost my productivity.

I’ve got fingers crossed that I’ll land a dissertation fellowship to cover childcare next year–and buy myself a few hours a week to dip back into fiction even as I’m writing the Frankendraft of my dissertation.

 

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