and i organised and made an outline on the next chapter i am planning on writing. which is going to be the biggest one yet. and the most difficult.

i have 2days left now, to write this chapter.

my next deadline is: monday midnight - zero draft of chapter 6. (minimum words 6,000)


so far, i have pulled out all my lab books, and notes, and papers, relating to this chapter. it's abit of a mess. but 1/3 of the chapter, will be what i wrote in my mphil thesis. hurrah for mphil thesis! at the time, i hated writing it. but now i am thankful for having it

it's always good for one's confidence, having something to work on and expand on.

Hey Lara, seems to me you've been very organised and done your best to facilitate an orderly submission, so don't beat yourself up if your supervisor gives you a hard time. Just stay focussed on what you do know and the material you've gathered for your thesis. If he tells you are not ready, ask him what you need to do in order to get ready. That is his job and you have the right to expect that he be able to do as much for you. Ask as nicely as you can but be firm and confident.

You can do it!

Hey cakegirl! always a pleasure to hear from you :)

thanks for reading my posts, you're so sweet.

hey that's great, you're getting back to writing!

thanks for your support regarding the fear of my sup meeting. i really appreciate it!


hey another fan of spider diagrams! i've stuck them to my wall! lol

i need to make one for my current chapter though. at the moment just did an outline on the computer. but making spider diagrams on huge pieces of paper with thick markers, is fun. lol

hey Liminalplace,

thanks for stopping by !

no need to apolagise, you're most welcome to message away on this thread! if you like you can join up and start writing up at the end of the day, what you have done. another forum member does so, BB. although haven't heard from her awhile. I hope she's okay.

i had writers block for about 3months! but then the book saved me! i'm so glad you're buying it. its been my constant companion. and has really helped me! can't wait for you to get it, you will be so inspired and will stop being so hard on yourself.

i came across the book from a person's blog, that made me feel better, than not many people can write for 8 hours a day, and still do it everyday..

read this blog, it really helped me! and put things into perspective and made me feel that i wasnt the only one that did this and felt like that!!

http://newkidonthehallway.typepad.com/new_kid_on_the_hallway/2006/03/writers_block_a.html

i loved when she wrote: http://newkidonthehallway.typepad.com/new_kid_on_the_hallway/2006/03/writers_block_a.html

"Getting up in the morning.

Saying to myself, "Right, today I am going to write ALL DAY."

Then all of a sudden it was lunchtime, and I hadn't done anything. Well, one has to eat lunch, right? So I'd eat lunch.

Then all of sudden it was about 2 or 2:30, and I hadn't done anything. Well, that's okay, there's still plenty of time left in the day, right?

And then all of sudden it was about 4:30 or 5, and I'd accomplished nothing, and there wasn't enough time left in the day to do what I'd planned.

It must not be my day. There's no point in trying to work now - the time isn't right - I'll start again tomorrow.

And the next morning I'd wake up and say to myself, "Right, today I REALLY DO HAVE TO write all day." .....

And the same schedule would occur.

But I'd feel even worse about it, because I had the previous day of no work to make up for.

So the next morning: "I HAVE TO WRITE ALL DAY TODAY!!!"

No dice. "

..."...DO NOT PLAN TO WRITE IN EIGHT-HOUR MARATHONS.* Honestly, I was never as relieved as I was the day that I read Joan Bolker's words: "There are not a lot of people who can just write - not stare into space, not get up to make five pots of coffee, not talk on the phone, but write continuously - for more than about two hours a day. You can write for a very long time on any given day, but the trouble is, you can't then do it again the next, and again, and again - and writing daily is the pattern that's best suited to finishing a dissertation." (pp. 53-4, if you're curious.) I mean, it made me realize how utterly wrong-minded I'd been with all my plans to write all day long, but it was nice to realize that I couldn't do that because it was an unrealistic goal, not because I was an undisciplined slacker."

finding that person's blog, was a life saver for me!

i still re read it, whenever i start to panic..

liminalplace, i am thrilled to hear that my diary has inspired and motivated you! you're so kind to say that.

hey it's not crap! after i finished my lab work i had 0 chapters written! and so far, i just have a couple of rough drafts and i have to submit in september!

but it's never too late to start.

my favourite quote is:
"whereever you are, it is the place to start. the effort to expend today DOES make a difference"..
"one day plus another has an accumulative effect".

well you're in company, because i have 7 chapters to write!

good luck, and feel free to update on your progress on a daily basis. it will help me too, it will keep me company..

Hey Tetris!

Thanks so much for your kind and encouraging words :) so nice of you!

Thanks for the advice!! that's really so helpful. You're so right, that's what i will do. thanks so much. i feel much better now.



i will just concentrate on the stuff i have, and if he says im not ready, i will ask him, how can i get ready. good idea!

liminalplace,

sorry what i meant to say was, that it's NOT crap that you have written 1 chapter only and you have 5 to go. that's great... you're in your 2nd year and have already written 1 chapter. that's really good! most people have zero chapters written after they finish their 3 year! and write up after they have finished their lab work or research or whatever. so that's really great you're already thinking about writing up. most people don't even want to think about it. until it's really crunch time. like me!

goodnight Lara. i think i'll call it a day now. i can barely keep my eyes open.

*clocks in*

Just finished part 1 (out of 3) of chapter 6, so I met my deadline
for today.

total words today = 6412 words (edited from one of my chapters from my mphil thesis)

now tommorow, i have to write the 2nd part, which is going to be hard, because I have no zero draft to work on, so writing from scratch.

(and goodnight Jojo)

*clocks out*

6412 words!!!! wow. you're doing great... considering those are near perfect words.

Hey Lara!
Soo sorry for my unexplained absence, but my internet access has been really restricted this week as I've been away from home. I've been in uni but I don't really fell that I can spend time on this forum as there is always someone else around! I'm glad to hear you are doing well though, 6000 words is ace .

I've also ordered the Joan Bolker book, I'm going to read it in short bursts in my breaks as I don't tend to do very useful things (i.e. I tend to just surf the net and get distracted). I'm still don't feel that I'm being very productive, but hopefully the book will help!