This is the first day of Teachers Write. I participated whole-heartedly a couple years ago and then I enrolled in an EDD program so last summer was consumed by professional reading and writing leaving little time for fun stuff. This summer I have completed my coursework and the first three chapters of my dissertation. I am in limbo for the moment between the rock of my paper and the hard place of editing to satisfy my committee. I can't think of a better release than to participate in Teachers Write.
Today's assignment is to describe where you are...and then describe it again focusing on different senses. I like this assignment. I think it's the same or similar as one a couple years ago, but what great practice! I can see a definite difference between version 1 which I wrote off the top of my head and version 2 which I wrote focusing on one sense at a time. I think the two could be meshed together to form a great intro to a book on how to not finish a dissertation. ;)
Version 1:
Sitting in bed, crossed legs, crumpled blankets. TV is on, but just background noise...like the other tv in the den, also background noise. Dusk is falling behind the sheers over the blinds. If I listen really hard I can hear the cicadas and crickets urging the moon to come out. My phone vibrates, calling my attention away in yet another direction. I am beginning one assignment only to ignore another. My dissertation awaits...
Version 2:
The gunshot battle on the television reflects the inner battle between sitting in my bed and working on my dissertation. The rat-at-tat-tat of automatic weapons equivalent to the war I wage on myself everyday that I don't work on it. Dramatic music crescendos, but it doesn't rouse me from my bed. Rumpled, slept-in sheets on a casually made bed keep me here. My fingers find the keys effortlessly as I work, but avoid work. The dim light of my nightstand is depressing and mingles with the fading light creeping in from the double-covered windows. I reach mindlessly for my wine glass not really savoring the last few drops of semi-chilled white. I will work on this tomorrow.
Today's assignment is to describe where you are...and then describe it again focusing on different senses. I like this assignment. I think it's the same or similar as one a couple years ago, but what great practice! I can see a definite difference between version 1 which I wrote off the top of my head and version 2 which I wrote focusing on one sense at a time. I think the two could be meshed together to form a great intro to a book on how to not finish a dissertation. ;)
Version 1:
Sitting in bed, crossed legs, crumpled blankets. TV is on, but just background noise...like the other tv in the den, also background noise. Dusk is falling behind the sheers over the blinds. If I listen really hard I can hear the cicadas and crickets urging the moon to come out. My phone vibrates, calling my attention away in yet another direction. I am beginning one assignment only to ignore another. My dissertation awaits...
Version 2:
The gunshot battle on the television reflects the inner battle between sitting in my bed and working on my dissertation. The rat-at-tat-tat of automatic weapons equivalent to the war I wage on myself everyday that I don't work on it. Dramatic music crescendos, but it doesn't rouse me from my bed. Rumpled, slept-in sheets on a casually made bed keep me here. My fingers find the keys effortlessly as I work, but avoid work. The dim light of my nightstand is depressing and mingles with the fading light creeping in from the double-covered windows. I reach mindlessly for my wine glass not really savoring the last few drops of semi-chilled white. I will work on this tomorrow.
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