Retreat, Day 11 (The Last Day)

Center for Writing's Homepage

On my evaluation of the retreat, I said that I am now convinced of the value of "community, structure and support" for writing. And it's true. This will change the way I teach and think about writing, probably forever.

Early this morning, we were given the following questions in bold as our pre-writing assignment for the first day.

As I continue to complete my dissertation, I will need to address the following questions:

How do I get past being blocked? (Read. Write in a different voice, as if in an email to advisor. Mindmap away from the computer. Look at your prospectus and grant proposals. Look up other dissertations.)

How do I put in a good day, every day?

How do I hold on to good taste? How do I continue to love literature?

What do I mean by rigorous? What can I say about theory?

How do I gain firmer control over my impulses?

Mechanical steps I need to complete in order to finish:

I need to oil up my mind and practice running it in different gears: reading Chinese, translation, commentary, full expository writing, brainstorming, revising, reading English, notating, reviewing, outlining. Responding. Eyes on the final product, writing coming out all the time.