So I'm working on polishing up the draft of this paper I'm writing for MLA, and I have this sinking feeling that it's terrible. Perhaps this is impostor syndrome, but I don't usually suffer impostor syndrome while I'm writing. That usually waits until I'm done writing and someone is reading it.
Truth be told, I haven't suffered the hammering doubt of academic writing in a while...I had a whole slew of stuff get accepted this summer, and I've been in the process of working on stuff I feel pretty confident about, generally. And this paper covers ground I'm very familiar with: I've published a well-received article on the genre of play I'm discussing; I've got a performance review of the specific play under contract at a very good journal; and yet, for some reason, these seven pages feel like dreck.
Perhaps it is the prospect of rpesenting at MLA that's doing it. Perhaps it's the fact that little of this argument is new to me, so it doesn't feel like I'm doing anything particularly interesting. Perhaps it just sucks.
Anyway, I'll be working on it until 2:30 today, trying to get it ready to send to the working group. Maybe by then all of this will be a bit clearer...
6 comments:
My theory is that most MLA papers feel like they suck, particularly if you've most recently been doing more fully developed essays (i.e., 20-30 pages). 7 pages is not much space, and you really can't do in 7 pages what you could in longer. Don't fret - I'm sure the work group will have good advice!
Well, I sent a draft off just now, so they've got a week to look at it, and I've got a week to think about other things...I still don't feel good about it, though.
If you want, send your paper along to me. In some ways, I'd be a perfect audence, because I'm a person who doesn't do exactly what you do but who might be likely to attend your paper. I'd be happy to give you feedback.
It's probably just that the ideas aren't new to you. It will be great to audience members, because they didn't already read it four million bajillion times.
And how did your Dinner of Exquisite Amazingness (tm) go? It sounded incredible --- will you adopt me? or open a restaurant?
P.S. that was me posting just above.
--- trystero49
That may be it, T...but this is MLA, and so I think I have this sense that even though I've been working on this for a while, someone may still come along and just rip holes in the thing...
As for the dinner, it went really well...only a few minor issues--iced up lettuce and over-charred cedar planks. And opening a restaurant is in fact a minor dream...just as soon as I find someone who could actually run a business. When that happens, you can come as oftena s you like.
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