It begins...

Happy Day 1 of Museology Thesis Writers' Month, everyone!

Admittedly, I pulled a good portion of this from my thesis proposal, but after Day 1, here's what I've got:



I've thought of another angle for this challenge: essentially, write an annotated bibliography with your thoughts and reflections on each article you read. When the month is over, it's time to (forgive the audio nerd-speak) "mix down" your information into a rough draft, and render it into your final product.

Good luck!

The second link is up! I hate, hate hate the bibliography section of any paper and with this tool Alex found, it's never been easier. The service is free or you can sign up for $8/year to have an account you can save directly to instead of an odd combination you have to keep going back to.

Personally, my research isn't going too well but next Tuesday I will have finalized my Thesis Proposal and have a good idea of how to begin. I'm still going to try to hit 85 pages though! This is an exciting project and I can't wait to see how it helps lessen some of the stress Spring quarter will inevitably bring.

Fun with HTML

I've added a "Tools" sidebar to the blog. The first link is to Writertopia for a "word progress meter" if you're interested in seeing what percentage you're at towards your goal. Let me know if you have any trouble configuring it to your goal.

Introducing MuTheWriMo 2007

This November 2007 is…

Museology Thesis Writers Month!

What is Museology Thesis Writers Month?
Much like its Internet counterpart, National Novel Writers Month, Museology Thesis Writers Month is an opportunity for second-year graduate students to work on their thesis and thesis projects with a concrete deadline of November 30th, 2007.

(From the NaNoWriMo website because I can’t put it better myself) Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in November is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

MuTheWriMo begins on November 1st, 2007 at 12:01am and ends at 11:59pm on November 30th. During that time, you are challenged with writing 85 pages or 25,000 words of your thesis or thesis project. There will be mistakes. There will be crap. But starting on December 1st, you can take a look at what you’ve done, feel accomplished, and begin the revision process.

The good thing is that for those of you working on a thesis project, 85 pages gives you exceptional space to cull down your previous month of writing and add in project outcomes. For those of you working on a thesis paper, 85 is still longer than the standard 60-75 pages and the additional months of revision will give you time to meet even a 100-page goal.

Rules:

• Spend October writing your thesis proposal, gathering your committee, and researching as often as you can to familiarize yourself with the material
• Start writing your heart out on November 1st
• Have fun! Even if you don’t meet the goal by November 30th you have already started writing your thesis and that in itself is fantastic!

This blog is for posting and keeping track of your word count, complaining about writers’ block, and generally encouraging each other to not give up. You will need a Google account to post—let me know your account name and I will give you posting access.

If people can write a 175 page novel there’s no reason why we can’t finish up the majority of a thesis rough draft.

Signup begins on October 1st and ends at 11:59pm on November 30th (if you do this, then write fast!)