Impending Writing Takes on M.A. Thesis

  • A Long Awaited Update

    After struggling for a while, I finally was able to sit down and do some much-needed thesis work. I am getting a bit worried that it won’t be done in time, but at the same time, I believe that it will get done in time.

    I know myself and my work ethic, the two together, will not allow me to not have this done. But also knowing myself, I know that I will lose sleep over this since I do some of my best writing at night. And I will miss work because work will always be there, this thesis, won’t and it’s more important to me to finish it than go to work. (If it comes down to that.)

    I have handwritten a few scenes and focused on typing them up while also editing them as I go. I’ve done that before and it’s helped me so much that due to the time crunch, I have to do it again. But I don’t mind it so much because handwriting is very relaxing to me and is what I need right now to get this done.

    I’ve also had to switch programs on where I’m typing my thesis. Bibisco, for whatever reason, stopped recognizing my computer’s save file and did not want to save my thesis. So now, after a small panic attack, my thesis lives in Google Docs/Drive where I will be able to do all the typing I want and not worry about how I’ll get it to Dr. Zamora next week.

    With all that being said, back to typing my thesis so that it can be done in a week or less.

  • Realizing I should have asked for help

    It’s been almost a month since my last post. I’ve only written twice since then and that was this weekend. My main problem is my research class. I dread it and so I try to force myself to do the work for that class so that I can reward myself with writing my thesis, but that doesn’t work. Every Sunday around 9 pm, I attempt to sit down and write the paper for the research class. It doesn’t get done until 10 at the earliest, if I’m lucky.

    That means I don’t get to spend time on my thesis. This weekend, I shifted focus. I chose to spend time on my thesis first and it felt amazing to finally get to write. I’m going to keep writing, no matter what and the papers for the research class will keep waiting until past 9 pm on Sunday nights.

    The progress I finally made

    Moving forward, I know I’m on a bit of a time crunch. So, to kill two birds with one stone, I will handwrite the scenes for my thesis. I write faster than I type. Then I will type them up editing along the way. I’ve done this before so I know it works and it helps me generate new ideas. Sometimes the way it’s written doesn’t end up being how it’s typed.

    Knowing that I have a long week ahead of me, but also a nice week weather-wise. My lunch breaks most likely will be spent at the park writing. I’ll do my best to enjoy the weather and work on my thesis. I know I can get this done. And I will. I know I should have asked for help sooner but between the slight writer’s block and the strongest dislike for my research class assignments, I couldn’t.

  • A Week Later and Ready to Write

    I’ve always enjoyed the post-Spring Break part of the semester. To me, it always symbolized a new beginning. While I didn’t get any writing done during Spring Break, I did get to rest which is just as important to me.

    My new/updated plan for the rest of the semester is to shift my focus to writing scenes instead of chapters. I have 35 planned scenes left to write and if I can write one a day, I’ll be done in 5 weeks. A scene is a lot easier for me to focus on and write than a whole chapter because it just breaks down the larger goal into smaller more manageable pieces.

    My goal is to just write. The sooner I get these scenes done, the sooner I can edit them. When I do edit them, I’ll edit two or more per day. I plan to read the scene aloud to catch more mistakes that way.

  • An Update Before I Present

    Last week I made very little progress. In terms of progress, I’d say I made one step. I was sick last week and thought I was going to get some work done while I sat at home, but no such luck. But it worked out because I at least feel rested and the ideas were flowing today.

    After spending 4 hours doing homework today, I got a lot done, I still have more to do but I feel so ready to tackle it all. By the time class starts tomorrow, I’ll have finished 4 last-minute tasks:

    • Write questions for Chapter 3 Scene 1
    • Write questions for Chapter 11 scene 1
    • Finish writing Chapter 3 scene 1
    • Finish the presentation

    Not a lot left to do and not crazy huge tasks, it’s just a matter of getting them done between now and 4:30 pm tomorrow. I’m excited to present what I have, nervous since I don’t like presenting in general, but overall excited.

  • Already Struggling

    It’s only the 4th week of classes and I have not found a good flow yet. I got no writing done because the readings for research class are taking up too much time.

    I’m really hoping that by the time class starts tomorrow evening I’ll have a scene or two to share, but right now, I’m doubtful of that. The next goal is trying to make time to sit and write and not worry about the research class.

    I know I will get my thesis done by late April/first week of May like I planned. The only uncertainty is the time spent between now and then. I don’t want too many late nights but maybe they’ll all be late nights. I know Spring Break will be a lot of writing time for me. I don’t want to miss work, but a day dedicated to my thesis sounds amazing. I know it will get done. I just have to struggle a bit before I find my stride.

  • First Update of the Semester

    After last week, I was tasked with two assignments. 1. Map out every scene in two chapters (2 & 4) and 2. Share a snippet of writing. This sounds like two easy tasks for me to complete and with two weeks, that’s more than enough time. But it’s me and I sometimes do too much (but it helps in the long run.)

    In doing too much this time, I have begun to make a scene list for the entire novel. A lot of the novel has scenes already and I just have to add a couple of details to my list. But most of the planned chapters just have titles. Thankfully, for me, the titles are more than enough to go off of.

    Here is part of the scene list I have so far. I’m up to chapter 7

    Since I have to map out chapters 2 & 4, they will be my focus for this week and I will try to get some writing done for them. I’m using three different platforms to help me write and organize this novel. I’m doing this for two reasons, 1. sometimes spending too much time on the same platform fries my brain and 2. it helps me come up with new ideas. Part of my creative process is seeing the same information in a different spot or next to something else may spark a new idea.

    As a quick example, here’s chapters 1 and 2, same number of planned scenes but as I wrote them out, the idea of being told as in past tense came to me.

  • New Semester, New Goals

    My plan for this semester is to write my novel. That’s it. But I do have plan to make it easier, sort of. I’m going break down my novel into smaller parts.

    Each month (Feb, March and April) I will write 4 chapters. Each week I will dedicate one day to research (at least in February) and one day to writing. Throughout the week, I will work on planning, outlining, research, writing, and editing so that not everything happens on just one day.

    So on Sundays I may do the bulk of my research, then Monday-Friday I will do more research or planning/outlining and writing. And on Saturdays I will do the bulk of the writing. Towards the end of April I will also be heavy on editing chapters. I will also edit as the days go. Fridays may be dedicated to editing. That way I can edit a lot on Fridays and let my weekends be lighter.

    A breakdown of my goals:

    • February
      • Figure out Anixa’s plan
      • Figure out Traxel’s plan
      • Write 4 chapters
    • March & April
      • Write 4 chapters
    • Follow the W Plot structure
    • Outline chapters (1-10, 12 & Epilogue)

    I know there’s a chance for more chapters but for right now, I only have 12 chapters left to write and that is what I will focus on. Until the book is done (and even after that), there is always room for more or less chapters.

  • A Slight Shift in Focus

    As I’ve been getting feedback on my thesis and writing away. I’ve been thinking about the purpose of my novel. I finally have an answer and thankfully it’s not too late.

    The novel represents the education system and The Organization represents everything that we should have learned in schools that would have been useful life skills. Though, the highest-ranking subjects are fighting, hacking, poisons, weaponry, and linguistics. (This is what the novel will focus on.) Over the years, people felt it was more important to focus on those as they are more prevalent in society and students loved them more than anything else.

    With that said, I do have to shift my research to look at the education system, standardized tests, and rules and laws within the education system.

    The fun part will be dedicating this weekend to diving headfirst into the ocean of available research in hopes of finding valuable sources. (I have high hopes for a 48-hour period but I got this!) The not-so-fun part will be actually reading it over the next week and churning out a literature review.

    The main goal for this week(end) is to get those sources, then the next goal is to read through and write a literature review. The last step is to write the novel, which I feel may be the easiest but I’ve never written a novel and my creativity isn’t very on demand – it comes when it wants, usually in the middle of the night.

  • An Update After A While

    It feels like it’s been a month since the last update. In the past two weeks, I’ve been reading through my research and trying to figure out what would help most. I made a presentation to dive further into my thesis in progress. I finally know what I’ll be reading when I share a reading.

    My next steps are to keep finding sources and writing more. I’m hoping that the research can also give me ideas to help the story more. I want the novel to be as realistic as possible but also it’s not going to be real enough that it could happen in real life.

  • The struggle is real

    I’ll admit, I’m struggling. I never liked reading research, and so, in true Chelsea fashion, I didn’t start until yesterday. Plus, these weeks are going by too quickly and it’s starting to stress me out.

    So, on to progress. I was able to skim through my sources and pull chapters that would likely be good, I was even able to rule one out. So, there is some progress and today, I’m going to lock myself in the library and dive in to all the research.

    I have a presentation next week that I’ve at least been working on. I’m not too worried about the presentation or the semester in general, I have full confidence in myself that everything will get done. It’s just in the process of getting from start to finish, I take the longest, hardest way.

    Starting today, I promise to get organized, get things done early and stick to my study plans better.

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