Rebuilding
One of the best pieces of advice I've ever received came from one of my thesis committee members, Dr. Eddleman. In regard to my thesis, he said I had to get going on it for one reason, "You're the only one who can make yourself do it." I might not have the quote exactly right, but it's sound reasoning. It's one of the things I used to push myself just a little more as I wrote the first draft of Vitamin F.
Now that the Fall 2008 semester has started at SEMO, I know the time I have left on my thesis is truly limited. I have to find a few values (which are doing their best to hide from me) and apply them to a modeling program. Once I have that, I find out what Dr. Scheibe thinks we need from that, extract it, and describe the whole thing in the text of my thesis. I've just got to find those values first.
My time in the sciences has fueled a lot of how I work and think. It would be unfair for me to not also mention that one of my coworkers has pointed out that I have an interesting contradiction: I'm scientific and logical on many fronts, all while being emotional and passionate at the same time. Do I blatantly advertise these things? No, I reserve them as the samurai would.
And, just as the samurai would, I let go of "making myself write." I found the writer in me again, along with the scientist and the guy who reads novels during lunch breaks. During the downtimes at work this evening, I managed to transcribe three pages, solidly describing Commander's interrogation methods. I'm slowly building to him saying to his victim the line, "I am the whirlwind." I'm looking forward to trying to get there.
As for Vitamin F, Bridgett's tale needs time to rest still. I've already started to make notes--with pen and paper--on how I can better enhance a few things. Chapters 19 and 20 still have their issues, so I might have to recruit Lyndsey's active advice on the solutions I have. (I'd post them here, but I'm not sure I'd get any feedback to speak of.)
Now that the Fall 2008 semester has started at SEMO, I know the time I have left on my thesis is truly limited. I have to find a few values (which are doing their best to hide from me) and apply them to a modeling program. Once I have that, I find out what Dr. Scheibe thinks we need from that, extract it, and describe the whole thing in the text of my thesis. I've just got to find those values first.
My time in the sciences has fueled a lot of how I work and think. It would be unfair for me to not also mention that one of my coworkers has pointed out that I have an interesting contradiction: I'm scientific and logical on many fronts, all while being emotional and passionate at the same time. Do I blatantly advertise these things? No, I reserve them as the samurai would.
And, just as the samurai would, I let go of "making myself write." I found the writer in me again, along with the scientist and the guy who reads novels during lunch breaks. During the downtimes at work this evening, I managed to transcribe three pages, solidly describing Commander's interrogation methods. I'm slowly building to him saying to his victim the line, "I am the whirlwind." I'm looking forward to trying to get there.
As for Vitamin F, Bridgett's tale needs time to rest still. I've already started to make notes--with pen and paper--on how I can better enhance a few things. Chapters 19 and 20 still have their issues, so I might have to recruit Lyndsey's active advice on the solutions I have. (I'd post them here, but I'm not sure I'd get any feedback to speak of.)
Labels: Writing Progress
posted by LEN! at 12:50 AM
2 Comments:
Hmm, I probably need to talk to Eddleman too. He told me back in the spring that I ought to look into trying to get my thesis published as a scientific paper, and I've done jack all towards that since then. It would have helped if he'd made some suggestions as to what I should do to the thesis to get it whipped into shape. He can be maddeningly vague some times.
Out of curiousity, what kind of values are you searching for?
Currently, yearly fecundity and death rates. I've basically found those in a rough form.
Next, I'll need to find some indicator of connection between habitat patches. I've got a few places for that.
Of course, this will all be pointless if I can't make the stupid modeling program work. It's such a simple, stupid piece of crap. When it works, I'll basically be done.
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