Problems writing...anyone? (MA)

[melach*]

Hi,

I am currently writing my MA thesis...or that is, I am having trouble writing it... It has to be done by this coming summer, and I should have written a LOT more on it than I have so far. I have already collected my data and I have started on writing the thesis, but I just have a hard time continuing. Like it has turned to a huge mountain that I just can't climb; the whole thing just drains me and it affects my life a lot. Like I avoid talking to my friends and family about it, because I know when they ask how far I have come on my thesis, I can't really tell them I have made a lot of progression from last time they asked.

I went through before Christmas too, and my advisor told me to take a few weeks off during the holidays and focus on something else (which I did for a few days, until I got the flu and spend my days sleeping it off). After Christmas, I did get quite a lot done, but now it seems like I'm right back at where I was before Christmas...

I have written about 20 pages, and it is supposed to be 80-100. When I write, I find myself correcting everything I write, thinking that I should have said it in a different way or used different terms, and it often results in frustration rather than pages. I also get overwhelmed by the whole "knowing what theory to include and not" perspective; it gets to the point where I read theory, just to find that I have no clue what I should derive from it and not. I'm new to writing an MA thesis, it's just a lot bigger than anything I've done earlier.

I have been thinking about dropping out, but I know I will regret it. Like, I've come this far, I have taken MA classes the past year, and now I have this semester (plus this summer) to finish the thesis; what other option is there really than to keep going?

Have any of you experienced what I'm going through? Anyone have any advice on what to do? If you do, I'd love to hear them!

PS, I may add that some days are better than others, it's just been too many of the ad days lately, and the days are moving towards summer....

[NeuroGal]

Whew that sounds frustrating! I had a grant proposal recently that I had a hard time with. Mostly because the literature was so vast and I had trouble figuring out what to put in there and what to omit. In the end, I just put everything I thought was necessary and then edited it down to make it more succinct and fluid. Once you get your ideas out on paper you should have an easier time reworking them.

For big goals like that, just try to have smaller peices. I remember trying to finish my last semseter as an undergraduate. I was in overtime on my credits as well as working and applying/interviewing for graduate school. There were several weeks I missed Wed-Fri for interview weekends and I thought I would never get my work done. It was overwhelming but the best advice I got was to focus on the smaller parts and over time the end will come. Try to work on one section or one paragraph. Then do NOT fix it until after that section is done! Just throw it all out there, no matter how bad it is. Your first draft is never going to be remotely usable so you can think of it like a mind dump. You have the self discipline to do graduate level work, apply that same discipline to refrain from obessing about perfecting your writing until you finish a section.

Edited March 20, 2012 by NeuroGal

[melach*]

Thanks @NeuroGal, appreciate it. It's good to know that someone else have knows how it feels to be overwhelmed by it all (although I wouldn't like people to go through the same), and it's even better to know that you made it through:) I have tried what you said, just write and not think too much about how perfect or not perfect it sounds, and though I still find it challenging I will keep on pushing. And focus on the small things, that's definitely a challenge at this point, but I know that that's what I have to do. I had an appointment with my advisor today and he told me that he thinks I'm going to make it, that really boosted my confidence to know that he's not given up on the project.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[puddle]

Hey Melach, sounds like you are having a tough time! I am currently writing my MA thesis (Political Science) and I can certainly understand how frustrating and time consuming the process can be. With that in mind, I have three suggestions which I hope will help to get you out of writers block and on your way to a completed thesis.

1) Do you have a detailed outline/prospectus? If not... this can REALLY help you break your paper down into manageable chunks. I produced a very clear road map of my thesis and then went through and indicated how many pages I thought each section should be. I tend to write linearly (start at the start, make my way through the middle, end at the end) but this approach does not always work. With a thesis 80-100 pages long, you might find it helps to write it in chunks (as though you were writing several papers in a series... or a 3 volume novel (do not speak slightingly of the three-volume novel, Cecily!). This might also help you break up your work according to the time you have left (e.g. give yourself deadlines for each of the sections).

2) Do not write every day. I probably sit down for writing marathons at most 4 days a week. I have 1 full day off from work per week and 2 days when I am TAing and attending to other business. It you work every day you will burn out fast and find it hard to get back to the computer.

3) Set yourself deadlines. It is important that you tell yourself (and your advisor) when you are going to have different parts of the thesis done. You can give your advisor the major deadlines (e.g. this is when it will be done for review... this is when I would like to defend) but you should have a whole series of minor deadlines. This will hopefully force you to work and allow you to focus on the micro-level writing rather than the big-picture.

Hope this helps!

[butalas]

The "mind-dump" idea is a great one--just let it all out. I'm sure you have a lot of thoughts and a lot to say...so say it! For me, I work best either in the early morning or just after dinner. They are both relaxing moments of the day that allow me to "let it flow." Small bits at a time; don't think about the quality of the writing; steady progress. Cramming produces incoherent work and muddled ideas. Just try to set aside a few hours each day (again I suggest early morning when there is just you, coffee, and the essay--nobody around to bother you) and you will steadily climb that mountain.

[voraciousbookworm]

Sorry to hear about that, melach. I know how you feel, though. I, too, am in the midst of writing my Master's thesis, and I think it's a very intimidating challenge unlike any I've encountered before. I've finished writing the first chapter, which turned out to be 29 pages, and am now doing research and pulling quotations I can use in my second chapter. After I had finished my course work, I felt so burned out that I took two weeks off and didn't do anything academically related. But in May, I realized I needed to get working on my thesis, the draft of which is due mid-July. I have to submit it even earlier, since I'll be going abroad on vacation in early July. I think what was most daunting is the idea of having to produce a 90 to 100 page thesis.

It requires a lot of self-discipline, motivation, and passion. I find the research can be tedious at times, but I remind myself to plough through it. If you find you really aren't in the right frame of mind, take a break and return to it when you feel you're ready.

I have about 5-6 more weeks to write approx. 60 more pages. I'm scared, but telling myself it's feasible. People have told me they've finished their theses within the span of a month. We'll get there, and we'll be so relieved when we're done! Just keep at it and don't be discouraged. I hope this helps. Best of luck!

[Shari A Williams]

Something that I try to remind myself is that while I don't always have the inspiration/motivation to write for many hours a day, some writing is STILL better than none. So I try to do some writing regularly, even if it's just a paragraph or two. Sometimes I might just write a vague-but-structured paragraph of musings on my subject, and add examples and analysis later. Other times I might deviate from my schedule and work backwards or on random points in random chapters in the thesis, rather than just going from point A to B to C every day. The way that I've kept off the overwhelmed feeling (for the most part that is!) is to just make sure I work as consistently as I can, because I feel productive and more confident that way.

Also, I don't know if you have, pump out that FULL first draft as soon as you can. Or as close to a full first draft as you can. As long as you have your intro/proposal/lit review, chapters and conclusion- no matter how incomplete- it'll give you a much better idea of where you are. And you'll feel much better and much more accomplished.

Good luck to everyone here! Hope we can all submit on time =)

[graciado]

I am in a similar position, and I would fully endorse the 'just pump something out' approach.

I have done all of my secondary reading and made notes amounting to about 16,000 words for a dissertation that should be a max 15,000! Even though most of the words I currently have are other people's, and not my own, I can order them, start to get a shape for the dissertation as a whole, and then just work through it, piece by piece, writing my own work and taking out all those bits that turn out to be extraneous. It is a lot easier to work withsomething on the page than with a complete blank!

[melach*]

Hey guys,

 

It's been a long time since I called out to you on this forum asking if anyone had ever experienced what I did with regards to writing the MA thesis. First off, just knowing that other people had been going through the same as me meant a whole lot. Looking back, that season was one of the hardest thus far in life. In retrospect I see how it consumed my whole life and drained me of anything good, I never thought writing could do that to me! I actually think that I wrestled in my thoughts with the idea that I could not do it, that I am not smart and should not be writing an MA thesis, just really demotivating myself, which - as we all know - is not the best way to start such a big task.

 

All that being said though, I am happy to announce that I actually finished my thesis December 2014, and received my MA degree in TEFL in January 2015! (If anyone ever reads this:) Why did it take so long? Well, for starters, I got a job as a language teacher before the thesis was done, and I somehow though that "it'll take a couple of months getting into the new job, and then I'll finish off the thesis!" Probably not the wisest decision of my life. Although working was good in many ways, I always had this weight on my shoulders that I couldn't shrug off; I knew I HAD to finish the thesis. So after over three years of never really relaxing but always either working (what felt like more than) full time with teacher things (it takes a whole lot longer than a couple of months to get into it) and the thesis, I was finally done. And what do you know, last week I just got offered a new job at a better school than the one I am currently working at. All this despite of the fact that I was not able to work with the thesis the way I planned, which resulted in the thesis itself being less than I imagined, but that does not really matter. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I could do it, so can you (again, if anyone ever reads this), just DON'T GIVE UP. And please, allow yourself to live even when you feel like you never deserve a break. No break will break you (I just made that up). No but really, good enough is great, especially when you are in a place where not finishing something is about to break you as a person. A thesis, or whatever, can be perfect in your imagination, but don't let the idea of perfect keep you from writing things that are less than perfect. You are not your thesis. You are so much more. 

 

Ok, so just wanted to say thanks to those who showed support when I posted this some years ago. It really made a difference, and I've come back many times to read it again. Thanks!

 

[qeta]

Thanks for the update! Really happy to hear that things worked out for you eventually. As I am about to start writing my own thesis in a month, this is an extremely useful reminder to take breaks and not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.