Hello everyone! I’m writing from a cold, snowy Amherst moving at half speed. We’re still a week out from the start of classes, and the only people on campus are those either doing research, working campus jobs, or writing theses. We’re very fortunate that Amherst allows us to stay on campus with a meal plan for free. This time to focus solely on my thesis without having to split my attention between other classes and extracurriculars has been incredibly valuable. While working on such a large project, having uninterrupted swathes of time to think, research, write, revise, and write some more is so important, but the hardest part is finding discipline to get to work. After 3 weeks spent completely away from work and with a broad goal of drafting my third chapter, I needed something concrete to push me back into the project.
Last week, I attended the Writing Center’s thesis writing retreat from 9am to noon. I expected a lot of structure and talking and workshopping, but it just turned out to be a silent 3 hours each day writing in community with about 8 other people. I never actually learned what everyone was working on, but simply having them around, all working quietly, was the perfect motivation for me to stay on task for that chunk of time. It definitely helped that there was coffee and breakfast provided every day. I’ve learned how important it is for me to get out of the house in the morning to get a kick start on the day early and be able to have the evenings free.
This week, I’m trying to carry forward that spirit (but with a 10am start, which is a little more reasonable since it’s still technically winter break). It’s been immensely helpful to have friends around also writing theses, to be able to work side-by-side, take breaks together, and commiserate a little bit. I’ve also taken up timing my work and setting goals in terms of time spent doing focused work, rather than particular tasks. At this point in the process, my progress is not linear at all, and it’s hard to anticipate exactly what I need to get done. I’ve had many days where I set out to write but ended up reading all day instead, which is something I’ve never had the time to do before. I typically start writing very early in the research process for time’s sake, and go on revising and editing as I do more research. The beauty of having all this time is being able to go down all the rabbit holes I need to, so my research feels a lot more substantial and thought-out. This is definitely the longest I’ve spent on a single chapter, but all this time revisiting old sources is rubbing off on the rest of the thesis, too. I think the whole project will be better off for it.
Someday I’ll actually write about the content of my thesis, but I’m honestly so sick of giving my elevator pitch that I’ll keep the topic kind of mysterious for now. I am writing in the Environmental Studies department, and most of my research is in the archives, with a bit of oral interviewing as well.
This blog is my break, so now I’ve got to get back to work. As always, feel free to shoot me an email at swolff25@amherst.edu with any questions you have about Amherst!