I suppose it's not so bad, since…

…since I'm finding out for certain that the documents that once existed no longer do.
…since I'm getting a chance to visit some towns in Blargistan that formerly were only places on a map.
…since I did, after all, find one marvelous cache of highly relevant documents (about 100 of them), even if it only took me three days to page through and photograph the parts I needed.
…since I've discovered a fabulous new restaurant in each of the towns I've visited.
…since I got to spend a week in a sixteenth-century mansion.
…since I've gotten a chance to spend more time with friends.
…since my resolution to work more intensively on my Blerg has had fantastic results: I wouldn't call myself "fluent" or even "proficient," but I can carry on a decent conversation now about more than just my research, and in a full 5 verb tenses, with the occasional tentative foray into the subjunctive.
…since I've been eating extremely well,** yet can still somehow fit into all the clothes I brought with me (though I still have five full days here, so don't hold me to that).
…since both my presentations went relatively well, and one of them is even going to pay me, once I get the bank stuf sorted out.
…since I got to meet up with some friends & colleagues from the states who were also here.
…since I've been taking pictures again.
…since the view from the current archive window looks like this:



…since my one carry-on suitcase managed to get me through a five-week trip (though I'll be porting back more books than I came with).
…since I've discovered that ordering iced coffee has become a common and acceptable thing to do here, and I can now do so fluidly in both Blarg and Blerg.
…since there might be a Fabulous Seminar Thingy to take me back here next summer to hit some of the "I should have gone there instead!" places.
…since having found only 100 or so documents means that I'll have less to process when I return in a week or so, because really, I still haven't finished the ones from my sabbatical last year.

Still, I'm sure that some of you will identify with that part of my brain that calculates time and (considerable and personal) expense versus the measly three "productive" days I had, and starts to feel like this trip has been a colossal waste of time, money, and effort. Hence, the list above, to remind me that I have, indeed, gotten something out of this trip, even if it's not precisely the something I was hoping for.


**For the Comrade, and others who focus on such things: Last night's dinner was squid-ink tagliatelli with calamari in a medium-spicy white wine/butter sauce.

Birthday update

Notorious Ph.D. will, in fact, be spending half of her 41st birthday on a bus to a town of 11,000. Will there be documents there? I don't know. But it will be different. It always is.

UPDATE ALREADY: Lunchtime. Old dude at the table next to me looked almost exactly like my former M.A. adviser. And he wanted to talk. And I knew I was in trouble when, within the first three minutes, the phrase "Jesus was Basque" entered the conversation. At that point, I knew it was only a matter of time before we got to the Templars.** I have never eaten a salad so quickly in my life.



**We did, however, manage to get to the Essenes, the Cathars, Charlemagne, and how American Jews financed WWII before I was able to pay the check and get the hell out of there.

Woman in a Suitcase

WRITING GROUP NOTE: ADM has put up the post for week four of the writing group!


As I've mentioned many times, I'm moving around a lot this trip. Here's the itinerary:

• stage 1: 6 nights in Blerg City (rental apartment)
• stage 2: 6 nights in research city A
• stage 3: 3 nights in Blerg City (2 different crash pads)
• stage 4: 7 nights in research city B
• stage 5: 4 nights in Blerg City (1 crash pad, but different from the two from stage 3)
• stage 6: 6 nights in research city C
• stage 7: 3 nights in Blerg City (1 crash pad, a repeat from stage 3)

So here's the question: Which of these would you unpack your suitcase for?

Seriously, I hate living out of a suitcase, because I can never find anything. It's especially problematic this time, as everything had to fit into a carry-on suitcase and a medium-sized shoulder bag (for computer, camera, passport, wallet, and book -- there, now you know which bag to rob). So when I don't unpack, it's a holy terror trying to find anything. But some stays are just too short to consider it, or lack the space to do so. For some of those latter, I've done the halfway-unpack thing. But it's still messy.

In fact, I have to clean up said mess right now, so I'll leave you all to discuss. But here's a parting gift, for those of you who have been waiting for it since you read the title:

Productivity Tools

Just a quick post today, as I'm on the move again. So what I have for you is the list of productivity tools for writers:

Citation & Note-taking:

• Ro & Travelia recommend Evernote
• Scatterwriter uses Zotero, as do I.

Basic writing software: Frogprincess and a couple others (me included) are using Scrivener.** Don't worry – it's perfectly compatible with Word. It's just a very nice format for organizing and constructing your work, and especially for looking at it in small chunks that you can later seamlessly integrate. Be warned, though: there is a slight learning curve – it takes about a week to learn 85% of it (and the other 15% you may not actually need). Another note: it was designed for Macs, and I think the PC version is still only in Beta, FWIW.

Miscellaneous Productivity Ideas:

• NW girl recommends "the Pomodoro technique -- looks interesting, and might be a way to shake you out of a rut.
• Jen contributes a CHE post on summer writing bootcamps

And finally: Frogprincess weighs in with a recommendation for Netflix instant, "for those 15 minute breaks we all need." Movies aren't my preferred writing reward (it takes me out of whatever flow I've established), but do make sure to plan in short breaks and rewards – whatever moves you forward without setting you back.


**And those of you who are using Scrivener – have you figured out how to get it to rotate pdfs in your "research" folder? Some of my Interlibrary pdfs arrive scanned sideways, and the inability to view them right-side-up in Scrivener is bugging the crap out of me.

Another Conversation with my Brain

So, I think I mentioned that town #1 was a bust for me, archive-wise? My thought then was: "A week! I should have gone to T. instead. Aarrrrgh!!!"

Now I'm in town #2, and though I found loads of stuff last week in archive A, that petered out by the weekend. Yesterday (Monday) archives B & C yielded nothing for this project.

There is a perverse part of me that always thinks the same thing when these things happen: "If I'd known, I wouldn't have booked so many days! I could have spent time in other, more productive places! Or I could have made a shorter trip and saved money!"

This is the way my brain works. It's also something I'm trying to change.

See, last night, my brain was starting to do that "You're wasting time and money, woman!" thing it does. And I had to pull my brain off to one side and tell it the following:

"Chill out, brain. You're looking at this all wrong. Sure, time and money are being spent, and we're not finding documents every day. But I emphasize that they are being spent, not "wasted." Think of all the things that these extra few days have allowed you to do. You are enjoying city #2 immensely, thanks to the generosity of a friend and that city's own considerable charms. You are practicing Blerg intensively. You are taking some good pictures, getting your eye back after a too-long hiatus. You are getting some "down time" – may I remind you of that hour and a half you spent sitting on the cathedral steps reading the novel in Blerg you picked up? And today, when you go to the archive, you will have the opportunity to track down that one citation that's been eluding you, to follow that trail of footnotes and see what document it leads to. Just remember that life ain't all about work, brain. Wasn't that something we were supposed to be working on?"

And the verdict is...

...ick.

That is, the verdict on wearing latex gloves in the archives -- something that this archive I'm visiting today asks all their patrons to do. They are gross, sweaty, and my resultant lack of dexterity can only be bad for the 14th-century paper registers I'm handling.

Ick.

Welcome to Week Three!

(Now UPDATED, with my preliminary feedback beginning at comment #30.)


So, by now people should be past the initial obstacles and well into writing. Many of you were talking about getting that "down draft" – that is, just getting some words on the page. If you're still doing that, great. Keep moving forward until you have something to start shaping. Others started with the first draft already done (as a draft, or as a conference paper, or some other thing) and were outlining and thinking of the work in terms of small, discrete ideas to flesh out, one at a time. Whatever you're doing to keep yourself moving forward, keep it up, and don't forget to celebrate your accomplishments along the way – and announce them to the group, so we can celebrate them, too!

Today, we'll do the usual report-and-plan. That is, tell the group what you've accomplished (maybe in terms of the goals you set for yourself last week?) and what you plan to do over the next week. I'm adding a new feature on the updated roster (below), reminding you of the goal you set for yourself last week. Confronting our own selves can be a good reality check (are you setting goals too high? too low?) and a powerful motivator. And if you're on the "awaiting report" list, well… we're awaiting your report. Let us know what you're up to!

One other thing that I thought we'd do this week: Over the past couple of weeks, several of you mentioned various productivity tools you've used. If you've recently started using something that is really working well for you on this project, let us know about it. Suggestions for writing guides that have worked for you are also welcome. Come Monday or Tuesday, I'll compile and post the suggestions, each with a short blurb from the person(s) who recommended them.

One last note: this week's travels have me out of internet range on the weekends. So this weekend I won't be chiming in until Monday. ADM will likely be checking in as she's home between conferences (ramblin' gal that she is), but you'll be supporting each others' efforts, so do pop back once or twice over the weekend to read each others' comments and offer advice and support. [UPDATE: looks like I'll be able to check in once in the wee hours of Saturday morning]

Happy writing, all – and see you Monday, and again next Friday for week four at ADM's place!


updated roster, with goals:

• ABDMama [Draft of an article MS]: get through the primary sources and articles and locate ones that are needed; continue writing reading summaries
• ADM [conference paper for Leeds; revision of paper after]: organizing some stuff for the Leeds paper, including ordering books to be waiting in the BL
• Bardiac [Review-ready article MS]: go through previous draft comments from friends; organize revision
• Dame Eleanor [Revising a conference paper into article MS]: keep daily writing; also get conference paper finished
• Digger [drafts of two book chapters]: get the rest of the data into, and a quick edit of, the typology/dating chapter
• Dr. Koshary [Review-ready article MS]: excused absence for trans-global move [!!]
• Eileen [First draft of a dissertation chapter]: get primary sources for this chapter lined up; write up trends in quantitative data; continue 500 words/day
• Erika [Review-ready draft of an article MS]: excused absence for fancy summer seminar
• Firstmute [draft of the final dissertation chapter]: Add 5,000 words to draft
• Frog Princess [Review-ready draft of completed dissertation]: tackle three major sections of the introduction, and get all sections of my final chapter in order, ready for the final rewrite.
• Gillian [an article that needs writing]: no declared goal for this week
• Godiva [First draft of diss. chap.]: organize information about one collection of sources; continue freewriting ideas about individual sources
• Historydoll [Convert dissertation chapter into an article]: freewrite on the topic every day, to reread the chapter in question, and to write at least 1,000 words of zero draft.
• J. Otto Pohl [Complete draft of 2/3-finished book MS]: no declared goal for this week
• Jason [First draft of a dissertation chapter]: 5 days of free(ish)-writing; (2) subdividing of outline into individual projects
• Jeff [Review-ready draft of completed dissertation]: on vay-cay, but try to put in an hour or two a day of writing [ed. note: time off is part of the process, my friend]
• Jen [Revising conference paper into article MS]: finish writing the first section of my article
• Kim [???]: Write an abstract?
• Kit [First draft of a dissertation chapter]: flesh out the chapter outline and pull relevant literature
• Matilda [Draft of a publishable paper]: revise draft article around my argument
• Mel [???]:write the materials and methods and results sections for the next chapter
• Ms McD [Revising a conference paper into an article MS]: revise and add to next section of article
• My Museology [redraft three dissertation chapters]: complete redrafting chapter 1
• NWGirl [Revising a conference paper into an article MS]: complete a draft of one section of the paper; short archives trek [ed. note: yay, archives!!!]
• Ro [MS revision (article?)]: read a group of newly available archival sources [ed. suggestion: Do some summarizing/where-does-this-fit writing as you read. That way, you're getting words on the page.]
• Sapience [diss chapter]: no declared goal for this week; end-of month goal = first draft
• Sara [Revision of research exam]: start daily writing; get a better handle on organization of draft
• Scatterwriter [Complete expansion/revision of an article MS]: fully write up ideas on new concept from last week
• Susan [Revise & polish two chapters of a book MS]: finish first revision of first chapter?
• Tigs [Completed diss draft]: have all parts of ch 2 in one doc; have a clear plan for revision
• Travelia [Write two conference papers]: complete a "decent" draft of conf. paper #1, and draft a plan for expansion/revision into article at a later date
• What Now [Polished book proposal]: write 3,000 words for current book chapter [ed. query: so is getting a down draft of most of the book part of the work you're doing to be able to write the proposal?]
• Zabeel [Draft first two sections of new article]: no declared goal for this week
• Zcat abroad [write two articles]: detour/excused absence to finish Leeds paper

Awaiting report:

• Anastasia: a book chapter to write for an edited volume*
• Audie: working on transitioning a dissertation chapter to an article*
• Avery: Draft of an article MS**
• Caleb Woodbridge: MA thesis**
• Cly: redraft three dissertation chapters*
• Scholastic Mama: Revising a conference paper into an article MS**
• theswain: editing & rewriting; produce new reviews/summaries for New Year's work*

Research Trips, and the Kindness of Friends

Reminder! Tomorrow is week three of the writing group! Make sure to report your progress, and your plan for the following week!

Okay, so I'm here in G. And let me tell you, it's freakin' gorgeous. I'm finding loads of materials for my project -- in reality, probably enough for a whole other project, if I decide to change direction. Or, if I ever have grad students who read Latin, Blarg, and Blerg (medieval and modern), I can turn them loose on this stuff.

But what makes this short stay (8 days) in G. especially nice is that it, like a few other stays this trip, have been hosted by friends.

I've been coming to Blargistan for a very long time, ever since my dissertation days. And way back then, in the late 90s, a group of oh-so-miscellaneous grad students adopted me. There were dinners out at inexpensive restaurants someone's girlfriend had found (Senegalese food for 3 Euros? We're there). There were trips to the movies planned around whatever theater had a half-price night that night. There were 45 minute-long coffee breaks at the archive. And there are now long-running jokes with those who I still know from back in the day. Over the years, others have been added to this group, really cool people, genuinely fun to hang around with, and all tolerant of (or maybe morbidly fascinated by?) a yankee scholar and her sometimes bizarre ways.

And this trip, I went ahead and asked various of them if I could stay at their places for anywhere from 2 nights to a week. And doors were opened, food was laid on, mothers fussed, etc. etc.

Yes, there was a practical side to this: other than some nice guest gifts, I'm spending no money for my accomodations for 50% of my trip. But better than that is the feeling that I have several "homes" here in Blargistan. Most are spare bedrooms in family apartments. The one I'm currently in is a meticulously restored two-story apartment in what is essentially a 16th-century merchant mansion right in the middle of the old medieval city, a 90-second walk from the archive. But all have that nice feeling that you're being welcomed home by family (if you and your family were ever on your best behavior). Which is kinda awesome.

The entryway to the very house I'm staying in. The well still works.

Things are Going Well

...and I'm thinking about changing the locks and never leaving this place.

That's a teaser for you. More tomorrow...

Dear Friend in the Town of G.

Thank you, thank you, for offering to let me stay in your apartment for the week starting Tuesday -- that is, the day after tomorrow. That's incredibly generous of you. The location is perfect, and the price (free!) is right. It's also a beautiful historic building, which is oh-so-nifty.

Given all this generosity on your part, I feel bad about nagging you for details, but:

What, precisely, is your address? So I can, you know, actually find the place two days hence?


Thanks again,

NPhD

Writing Group, week two!

Hello, all!

Another Damned Medievalist has posted this week's writing group meetup. As always, we ask our participants to talk about 1) their progress this past week, and 2) what they plan to do for next week. In addition, ADM adds the following for this week:

Lots of people started out making less progress than perhaps they had planned, for all sorts of good reasons. But we all know that those good reasons still eat into our time, and can often mean a sense of failure that affects getting the writing done. For next week, let's not only post our goals, but also think about one or two small things that, even if life starts getting in the way, we can get done to move the project forward. It could be reviewing a couple of articles, or drafting an outline, or even just freewriting 500 words you think you'll have to dump -- but it should be something you can point to and say, "I did this thing."

Make sure to post your progress reports and comments over there this week; we'll be back at Casa Notorious next Friday.**

One other little bit of linky goodness, again over at ADM's place: today she posts an open letter to the Berks organizers on how the conference this year is quite light on anything pre-19th century, and muses on marginalization within the field of women's history, á là Judith Bennett. Well worth reading and thinking about.


**Contingent, of course, on me finding a suitable internet connection the day of the post. If you don't see anything here by, oh, say, noonish next Friday, check back over at ADM's place.

Looking on the Bright Side of an Archival Bust

So, I've now visited all of the archives in the small Blargistan city of L that have medieval documents, and I'm telling you, there is not a one that is useful to my project.

Not. One.

Most of L's medieval holdings are sparse. The diocesan archive at one point had mountains of documents dating back to the mid-12th century, but everything medieval and much else was destroyed in one of the wars that blew through here, and now their documents only go back to the mid-18th century. The other archives have the occasional register or bundle of parchments from my century, but I've got a project centered around a specific year, and there's almost nothing for that, other than a few documents of property sales or rentals (which might be fascinating for some projects, but not for mine).

I've spend a week here, and I've transcribed a total of three documents, all of them highly tangential to my project. But I had to do something, other than sitting here, wishing I'd spent the week in T. instead. Or even back in Blerg City.

So, what's the bright side?

• Well, now I've looked at all the archives in L. I know what is and isn't here, for future projects. Tomorrow I'm going to look at the one particularly rich collection they have for the era I tend to work on. It doesn't have anything for this project, but I want to know about it.
• The archivists have all been very nice and helpful.
  
• The paper I presented on Monday went well.
  
• I had to stay in a hotel, but it was inexpensive, and clean, and conveniently located.
• I only booked six days, rather than the ten days I originally had planned.
  
• There is a really good vegetarian restaurant in this town (in a country where it's hard to get a meat-free meal), and yesterday I had what may be the best salad I've ever eaten.
• I visited the one main medieval attraction, and because this is an out-of-the-way town, and because it was a weekday, I had the whole place to myself for long stretches of time.
• I've gotten to rest up a bit, to the point where I'm really, really eager to have some documents to dig into.

Please, please let there be documents for me to dig into.

One of the photos of the nearly-deserted medieval attraction I visited yesterday.

Just Something to Think About

In Blerg (though not Blarg), the word for "archive" sounds like a sneeze.

Discuss.

Miscellany from the Archives

• Oh, thank goodness for readable documents. I'm not allowed to photograph the one I was working on this morning, but it was an official privilege, so although it's long, the writing is nice and neat, and the abbreviations are few and regular.
• Archival norms are weird, in that they vary a lot from one to the next. Some don't let you bring in any writing instruments, and make you use the pencils they provide. There's the one that has you divest yourself of everything that a document could possibly be concealed in. There's the archive that limits you to three documents a day. There's the one that sent me up a ladder to fetch my own crumbling registers off a top shelf. The one I'm currently working in that put two fourteenth-century parchments on my table, then when I left to go to the restroom, just told me to leave them there, even though the door to the building's main lobby was wide open…and the door from the lobby to the great outdoors – where it's currently raining!** – is open as well. The bathroom, however, is under lock and key.
• The gloom-and-doom predictions were right: there's not much in the archives of this city for the period I'm studying. In today's archive, it was only perhaps half a dozen documents, and all of them only very tangentially related to my topic. But there are two or three other archives in this city. I'm not worried. And if anyone wants to do a thesis on crime in a small and not very interesting town in the Mediterranean, there's a truly fantastic cache of largely unexploited criminal registers here from the 14th century on.
• One final note: it's good to be back in the documents again.

**Humidity is the number-two enemy of medieval documents, second only to catastrophic fire.

How to Catch a Train in Blerg City

Begin at the surprisingly grimy main train station in Blerg City.

(1.a) Puzzle over which of the three multi-window ticket counters you should go to to purchase your train ticket. (1.b) Decide to try the handy automatic ticket-dispensing machines that lots of people are using. (If you've already done step 1b once before, then skip it and go straight to step 4).

(2) Search in vain for your destination on the machines' list. Discover that these machines are only for regional trains. The two other types of train departing from this station (not counting the subway and the trains to the suburbs, which are both entirely separate systems) are only available at the ticket counters.

(3) Repeat step 1.

(4) Go to the ticket window that you notice has your destination displayed for today's departures (although the other two ticket counters lack departure boards, so you're not sure). Bonus: This window has the shortest (though least organized) lines!

(5) After a bit of jostling and ruminating about whether the best response to line jumpers (in a culture whose subtle rules of behavior you don't always understand) is passive-aggression or just plain aggression, arrive at the front of the line, and learn that, yes, this is where you would buy your ticket to that city… if you were traveling today. Since you're purchasing a ticket for a later date (well-prepared person that you are), you need to go to the next counter over.

(6) Take a numbered ticket for your place in line at the next counter. Note that the number on your ticket is "632," and the current number being served is "550." (6b) Decide that life is too short to wait in line for so damn long, and accept your friend's offer to go back to her nearby apartment and purchase the ticket online and print it on her printer.

(7) Locate ticket-purchasing website; (7b) Fill out several screens of information; (7c) click "purchase ticket"; (7d) receive "unable to process transaction" message; (7e) Despair.

(8) Call train company and explain the problem. Once they have looked up and verified that your card has not been charged, attempt to purchase over the phone. Give same information you gave on website. Learn that their computer system won't take U.S.-issued credit cards.

(9) Return to train station. Take number ("745"… current number is "660"). Wait 45 minutes. Jump up when your number is called, feeling like a lottery winner. Purchase ticket.

(10) Board train the next day. Note that it's actually a rather nice train. Maybe not "steps one through nine" nice, but nice nonetheless. The train is uncrowded. You have a window seat, and a small lunch of mini-sandwich, fresh cherries, and water. Relax. Read your novel. Watch the countryside slip past until you arrive at your destination.

From (Deliberately) Lazy to (Unfortunately) Frenetic

For the first time, I planned a trip to Blargistan that included some down time at the beginning and the end. Granted, some of that down time at the beginning got eaten up by the first of my three presentations (#2 & 3 Monday!), but it was a real pleasure to have most of a week to just adjust to being here, spend long days with friends, and not worry about finding stuff.

(And yes, Comrade: I've been eating cheese. Plenty of it.)

fig. 1: Not cheese. But delicious nonetheless.

But the flip side, the more frenetic side, is that this trip sees me not planted in a single city. Rather, I have four cities in five weeks, three of them to work in archives wholly new to me, and two of those three in towns I've never been to. I'm bouncing back and forth from the smaller ones to my "home base" in Blerg City on weekends, camping out with various friends. I do miss the way I was able to establish a long-term rhythm when I was here before last spring. So this will be a change.

In any case, I'm off to catch a train to L. in a couple of hours. Not sure what my internet access will be. More dispatches when I can.

My first week in Blargistan

NB: people are still checking in and discussing over at the writing group. You can find that discussion by clicking here.


I think it's going well. The goal this time is to try to apply "work less, live more," even to my research trips. So, thus far, between arriving Tuesday and today (Saturday), I have:

• Given the first of my presentations (went well, but ran long) and gotten to meet some academics here I hadn't known previously
• Developed a game plan for the archives I'm going to later this month
• Given away several courtesy copies of my book
• Spent a little time in one archive's reading room tracking down some odds and ends for an article project
  
• I have not, however, looked at a single medieval document.

I have also:

• Met up with a couple of US colleagues, one of whom I haven't seen for years
• Eaten cheese, cherries, and tomatoes
• Had coffee or lunch with a number of friends
• Slept through every night, miraculously without any jetlag of any kind (I think that being awake for more than 30 hours straight on the way and my first day here had something to do with that).
• Taken some pretty pictures:

Writing Group: Week One!

UPDATED BELOW, with a word from ADM about next week. Also, check the comments – around #35, I give some feedback and suggestions, FWIW.


Goodness gracious, but we have a full roster this term!

So, welcome to the end of your first week. Here's where you report on your progress, and set a goal to report back on next Friday (this time, over at ADM's place).

Last week, I also suggested that, after checking in with their progress and their goal for week two, people take on one other thing for contemplation: tell us about your writing routine. When do you write? Where do you do it? How long is your daily writing session?

Also, feel free to talk amongst yourselves, yes? This is supposed to be a support group of sorts, so if you see something particularly interesting in what someone else has said, feel free to chime in with another comment.

Now, it's time to take attendance. When I call your name and project, please check in:

• Sapience: a first draft and a revised draft of the current dissertation chapter
• Dame Eleanor: Revising a conference paper into an article MS
• NWGirl: Same thing.
• ADM: a conference paper for Leeds
• ABDMama: Draft of an article MS
• Dr. Koshary: Review-ready article MS
• Sara: Revision of her research exam
• What Now: Polished book proposal
• Avery: Draft of an article MS
• Jason: First draft of a dissertation chapter
• J. Otto Pohl: Complete a draft of a two-thirds finished book MS
• Jeff: Review-ready draft of his completed dissertation
• Frog Princess: Same thing
• Erika: Review-ready draft of an article MS (taken from the dissertation)
• Godiva: First draft of a dissertation chapter
• Kit: Same thing
• Eileen: Same thing, too!
• Bardiac: Review-ready article MS (revision of a draft paper)
• Scholastic Mama: Revising a conference paper into an article MS
• Jen: same thing
• Tigs: Completed dissertation draft
• Digger: drafts of two book chapters (one already underway)
• Zcat abroad: write two articles [??] [is this from scratch, or two revisions? Seems like a lot for 12 weeks; just sayin']
• Caleb Woodbridge: MA thesis
• Matilda: Draft of one paper [for a conference? or for publication?]
• Zabeel: Draft of the first two (of four) sections of a from-scratch article.
• Ro: first draft of an essay for an collected volume (mid-summer)
• Firstmute: draft of the final [ed. note: YAY!!!] dissertation chapter
• Scatterwriter: Complete expansion/revision of an article MS.
• Susan: Revise & polish two chapters of a book MS
• Travelia: Write two conference papers (possibly more later in the summer)
• Ms McD: Revising a conference paper into an article MS

Thanks for being part of the group, and see you next Friday over at ADM's place! Oh, and by the way, she says:

Lots of people started out making less progress than perhaps they had planned, for all sorts of good reasons. But we all know that those good reasons still eat into our time, and can often mean a sense of failure that affects getting the writing done. For next week, let's not only post our goals, but also think about one or two small things that, even if life starts getting in the way, we can get done to move the project forward. It could be reviewing a couple of articles, or drafting an outline, or even just freewriting 500 words you think you'll have to dump -- but it should be something you can point to and say, "I did this thing."

Don't forget!

We've had a lot of people show interest in the writing group, and people have made some serious commitments, so I think we should have a good group.

Don't forget: your first progress reports are due in tomorrow's post. I'll be taking attendance...