Sobriquet 42.7

The following post was originally published on 5/7/08.

It seems that the deeper I get into the chapter I'm writing on The Master of Petersburg, the longer it takes me to get started each time I sit down to work on it. I'm sure part of my problem is related to the standard end-of-the-semester crunch and I am equally certain that I'm just plain tired of writing about this novel. I'd say that one of the worst parts of the dissertation-writing process for me is the fact that, while writing a given section, I have no idea whether or not what I am writing will be deemed "good' by the people who ultimately decide whether or not to award the doctorate. The further I get into the chapter, the greater the amount of writing that can be picked apart and rejected. And that's not always easy to deal with, especially since I am not particularly fond of what I have produced thus far on The Master of Petersburg.

There have been times when I have felt some satisfaction, have sensed that the day's work was pretty solid but, as is much more often the case, I tend to feel as if I have not done a good enough job, that my work is a sprawling mess, that I have veered off topic. And the weight of those doubts tend to get heavier over time.

Oh, well. Que sera, sera, I suppose.

So, after sitting around for several hours, I did get some writing done, hitting the thirty page mark for the chapter, though that may very well mean nothing if I have to rework much of it. Still, there is some satisfaction in round numbers.

I also read some more of Foe, which I continue to enjoy a great deal.

For Tomorrow: Read some more of Foe.