Wuss. . .
OK, I’m being very chicken shit right now by not choosing the screenplays I need to complete for my portfolio. I get like that sometimes, mentally congested. It’s not writer’s block. I know I can write, but when I get too wimpy about the decisions I know its time for one thing, and that’s a new blog post.
Today is the day I decided to get to writing, and if that means I have to write twenty blog posts to get the juices flowing, then I will. I admit I do love science fiction/fantasy then immediately shied away from it because I fear everyone’s reaction to the material. OK. I just lost one big battle without even trying. That’s beyond fail. That’s just a sad state of affairs.
I’ve decided to go back to a few projects I created a while back and will develop them irregardless of how insecure I feel now. They are already strong concepts that need direction. It’s my duty to make these screenplays shine.
So now I have my four screenplays. They come at the top of my development list. I will work on others after these. For the record, the genres are contemporary fantasy, superhero, comedy, and comedy-horror. Don’t care what’s trending. These guys are at the top of my list. Suck it indecision!
Now onto TV scripts. I originally wanted two, but I feel a need to ambitiously try three. For those I have science fiction, horror and comedy shows to develop. Now to commit more to the project.
P.S. This in no way diminishes the time and energy placed into my thesis. If I have to write a blog post to keep up the groove on a daily basis I will.
Research Means Rewriting
Normally I say “writing is rewriting” which is still true. What I can add to this is that research for my thesis means rewriting and revising. I’m happy for this. it means I haven’t gotten complacent with the current material. It also means that I need to get off my duff and read more. I have articles and books laid out before me that I need to crack open and get things done.
Between me opening several books, marking chapters for Thesis Friday, I really have a strong need to get this work cited for my paper. The reading is not bad. I rather enjoy the process of learning. Yes, I’m academically-minded. I’m excited as to where this leads.
Thesis Fridays and the Saturday After
Promised myself to update my blog today. After all I do have the time, and I need to write more. I feel I’m cheating by not writing. Even if it’s a small paragraph. I have to get my writing going.
While I managed to add a few more pages to my thesis, and update my works cited page, there is still a lot more to do. I feel the need to hide myself away from the world and get things done. Zero disturbances and then I can make the best of this situation. I’m finding that in order to write I need to be away from others. This writer must forego all the social aspects of life to get things in order. I really need to edit what’s on the table.
I also did some research today, which meant reading more, which was good for the project. Getting more information helps me to focus the topic a lot stronger. At this moment I think I’m near the topic, but not feeling like my thesis topic has weight to it yet. I did jot down more notes and I am curious as to how things will shape up.
Thesis Fridays
I decided that before I go any further with pages I needed to narrow my focus much more significant;y than I did before. That meant addressing all the questions I’m supposed to ask during the preliminary research phase, which I did, but never clarified. This means I need to address the proposal stage of writing the research paper.
Needless to say I went to the computer lab and forgot my notebook, which had all my current ideas written down. That is what I get for not packing the night before. I still had several notes and info with me so I worked from there, and managed to bounce some ideas off of a friend since we meet up on Fridays.
What would be a simple page of information turned into two pages of me doing some fact finding and looking up some sources. Luckily I kept my Key Concepts book with me. Mind you the notes I took form this book were still at home. They had to be redone. So now I have a more clarified paper and can narrow my thoughts and research. \We call that scope and methodology.
So the revised proposal got a cooling off period while I played Dragon Age 2, and today I will look over my notes to see if anything can add to what’s been written. I have to watch t least one of the films in the paper, and take notes on it. Maybe today. No big plans outside of enjoying this day.
Thesis: It Gets No Easier
Been writing my thesis. To me plugging away at it is the only way to get it done. Well I realized today that this is gonna take a lot more time than I expected. For that matter, I’m looking at doing more and more research than planned. I’m gonna go way past the minimum of 40 pages for this degree. It wan’t expected, and in fact I would have preferred to keep it simple, however since I’m not going to do that, I want to work harder at putting things together.
Trying to contextualize genre has become something of an obsession for me. I need these defined and move on. Next weekend I have to finish the comedy sub-genres because there are some other genres I need to address and finish. I may have to get up early during next week and spend at least an hour a day writing.
Thought about taking the first five pages and revising them, but I feel I need to write more and do less editing. It must be done. Why does it feel so monumental? My goal is to show at least 20 pages of this to my professors, but I’m a mess.
When Last We Met. . . Thesis Fridays
I felt very queazy last Friday and my sleep patter went all the way to heck. I didn’t have the fortitude to get up and go to the computer lab and work on the project. I felt ever so guilty, and my family suggested that I leave thesis alone for the weekend. That did not mean that I gave up on writing. Also I have some positive news. I’m saving that for another post.
I did work on the thesis during my weekend. A total of five pages. I needed to get those completed. I nearly have all my discussion on genre completed. On a side note, I have some additional information that I will add to the pot. This should push the page count up higher in a good way. For the record I wanted to contextualize comedy and a few sub-genres (screwball, romantic, and dark). I find I’m looking at elements of melodrama, which I worked on around last Christmas holidays. The information is scholarly and therefore usable.
Some genres force me to look at other genres and extend the research. For example, dark comedy often overlap with satire and contains elements of tragedy. Horror blends well with dark comedy. All three genres need a solid definition, and I prefer to have at least two scholarly sources in my paper for this genre information.
Well, I’m going to dare to suggest I’m not done with genre information and I hope to make it thorough and concise. When you read this thesis, my goal is for you to have detailed information done with confidence.
Thesis Fridays: It’s Almost Here
I’ll be working on more of my thesis paper tomorrow. The goal is to get two more fully cited pages, which will add to my seven and one half pages. It will bring me closer to ten, and I need to add my handwritten notes as well as review a few other items I put aside for my thesis. That will give me the ten I need for this week, because I want to repeat the process for the next week.
I do need to complete what I feel is a fully cited contextualization of the comedy genre. I also need to have solid definitions of satire and romance since these sub-genres overlap in the films I’m discussing, as well as horror. Yes I’m running a gamut here, but if the thesis were easy I may not want to do it at all.
Even more so I need to crack open a few more books and get more sources on the pages. I’m in strict need of making this process a lot more productive than last week. If I can get four fully cited pages tomorrow I feel I’ve achieved more positive than simply passing by. Thesis is tricky. I’m looking at clarifying what I need to make this pop. At the moment my paper feels fragmented without shape, and definitely unpresentable. I suppose that is the nature of a rough draft though.
Simply Six Pages of Thesis
A friend and I decided to use Friday to work on our thesis projects. He’s a Sequential Art major, and as most know, I am Cinema Studies. I need to refine my own artistic skills, however, that for another time. It’s all about getting work on my thesis. As I said in a previous post, I’ve changed my topic. At least to something that I feel I can get a lot more pleasure from writing. I have to say, Dr. Cox-Stanton was correct when she guessed my true thesis topic back in methodologies class.
Back to my thesis adventure. I knew I had to be on campus for other reasons, so my friend and I met up then went to a computer lab to work it out. I got two pages done, with full citiation. It was a slow progress, but I was happy that I worked on it. At this point I’m simply focusing on defining the genre of comedy and its history. It doesn’t sound so interesting at first, but it is one of the oldest genres in cinema history. It’s been through transformations, and often reflects/represents aspects of culture. There are some serious lacking in mainstream films with representation, and that means I find some flaws to discuss.
Yesterday was only two pages of work, however I already wrote three pages, and began working more on it today so I’m now at page six. it’s rough and ugly, but I wasn’t going for pretty at first. The polish doesn’t come till later. I gotta get it all down.
I’ve got a lot to work to do. My plate is full and I’m very content with this challenge. Excuse me while I devour this victory daiquiri.
My Adventures in Research Papers
It’s been an week of mixed adventures and I promised myself that i would work on a new topic. I’ve been working on the thesis, but then I found myself feeling the topic was dry (which its not), but I’m bored as hell. Is it time to readdress the thesis? Been working on another paper to get the creative juices flowing. This paper feels like more fun than the thesis. By fun, I mean I’m more interested in completing it. Should I switch my thesis topic? I do have the time. If I can get ten pages done soon, then I’ll know for sure.
Thesis Update 2011
The thesis has been going sadly, slow. I did managed over last year’s holidays to get several pages typed, and struggled with an introduction. Even if I have a weak ass five sentence paragraph, I need that. The writing won’t get if I don’t do that. Needless to say my own fears of limitations get to me. I decided today, while getting my oil change just to type a weak-ass five sentence paragraph on my Blackberry and email it to myself. Well as simple as that I have my introduction.
With some editing, I now have three well-flowed pages. In another day I’ll have six, and another day I’ll have nine. I need to let these pages “cool off” for a few hours. I’m more than happy to give myself the proper time to reflect on what I need to improve these pages. I can see right now I missed adding a source. It’s non-scholarlary, but I do have three already cited in the pages, and it contains vital historical information I can quote legitimately (Encyclopedia Britannica).
