burst

I had a little spurt of productivity this morning, knocked out 3 more pages of my Ashbery re-write, and now my motivation is gone. I'm around 13.5 pages and need at least twenty. It's due Friday, but I was really hoping to be done before that.

Did I really say writing papers was one of my favorite parts of academia? Yes, I'm over-caffeinated and wearing grungy sweats, but that's about the only part that rings true right now. When's the adrenaline rush going to kick in?

I feel a long post about being a writer/poet coming on...a retrospective post about the last six-seven months and how life has gotten in the way of what I love to do...I'm sure it will be inspiring and motivating. Or whiny and self-deprecating. Either way, it will have to wait until I'm done arm-wrestling with John Ashbery.

How Long?

I've been toiling over my Ashbery paper since Thursday and I have 3.5 pages typed and several pages of disjointed notes to show for it. Today is the last day, and I'm giving myself a 10 pm deadline. We all know I procrastinate, but I will hate my life if I have to pull an all nighter. Tomorrow I have to be on campus 9am to 6pm, which isn't the longest academic day I've ever had by far, but it would be the longest academic day after an all-nighter. So, 10 pm deadline. I'm giving myself, more or less, 2 hours per page. That should be more than enough, right?

That's where you come in, readers. I'm curious how much time you spend working on your critical writing. I can easily spend 8-10 hours on a 3-5 page paper, but I also know that when pushed, I can write a decent (not my best work) 3-5 page paper in about an hour and a half (assuming I know/understand/like my topic). But when we get to 10 or more pages, I feel like it will take days. For those ugly, unavoidable 20-25 pagers, I need at least a weekend of uninterrupted cramming. Doesn't matter how much research I do ahead of time, or even if I manage to write a first draft before the last minute.

How long, folks?

PS - thanks to everyone who has made suggestions (here and elsewhere) about resources. I don't have time to check them out for this paper, but I do have to expand this topic at the end of the semester, so I'll take a look then.

Break Time

I have been so busy lately--and not just "wow, there's a lot on my to do list, but I'm watching TV" busy--that I have gotten really bad at answering emails, updating my blog, etc. (So, if I owe you some sort of communication, please forgive me!) But I'm still really good at updating my facebook status. I'm taking a little break right now for dinner, but then it's back to Ashbery. I don't know what I've gotten myself into--I'm supposed to be coming up with a theory as to how his seemingly unrelated phrases and images work together to make meaning. Huh? I'm sooo not the scholar I pretend to be. The worst part is, if I bomb this, me and the prof won't be the only ones who know--I have to present this paper, conference style, to my whole class and whoever else decides to show up next Wednesday. Fun!

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I really wish I was going to Winter Wheat this weekend. Looks like there will be some really great sessions, and of course lots of old NEObuddies. I hope you guys have fun!!