Nonfiction: Academics - where we're going, we don't need sleep.

Are you using NaNo to muscle through your dissertation or thesis? Are you a faculty member who needs to publish or perish (and you might wind up doing both)? Does any of this sound like you?

I'm a faculty member at Metropolitan State College and I am shamelessly using NaNo to progress on my book about the Sand Creek Massacre. I'm a historian by trade, and while my project is definitely in the NaNo rebel box, I find the constant need for discipline and the atmosphere of a write-in are perfect to get me past the initial research phase and into writing. My department is holding weekly write-ins this year, so this will also be a perfect opportunity for me to take a break from curriculum design and all the other things I allow to completely usurp my research and writing schedule.

Is anyone else doing some academic writing?

I did this two years ago to get my first draft of Chapters 1-3 of my dissertation. I'm now done with my coursework and in dissertation phase, BUT I think I'm going to do a novel this year. Procrastination. :)

It IS a a great way to get a lot of words on paper. I might have to mix my genres. this year. Hmmmm.

I'm going to try to rough out my constructive theology paper for next year.

My only rule in NaNoing thus far has been to always break the rules. Year one I wrote a travelogue, year two I worked on something that I'd started years earlier and never got to finishing, and this year, I'm going for the NaNo thesis.

Historian as well, working on Chinese 1950's propaganda. I'm only a masters student, so I don't even need 50,000 words to finish, so I'm planning to spit out 50k in a month long panic to just put ideas and words to paper, then spend the next few months polishing it into something readable.

I'm writing a NaNo thesis, too.

I'm a German Business student and need to write 70 pages for my Bachelor thesis on Corporate Social Responsibility. I want to finish it this year, so NaNo should be perfect to get most of the writing done.

I'd love to do this. How much time do you spend researching BEFORE Nov 1? Tons? or Tonnes? ;-)

I'm working on finishing my first draft of my PhD thesis in anthropology ("Legacies: kinship and change in Kumasi, Ghana"). I live in a different town from my university, and I really miss having people to connect with. I was really excited to discover the rebels thread!

I'm about 100 pages in, but there's a lot of descriptive stuff and interview transcripts, so there's quite a bit left to do for the next 150-200 pages (I'd like to keep it to about 250 pages total, in consideration of my committee. I've heard of 650 page theses in anth, but that just seems rude to me).

I'm also a mom of a 15-month-old, so I have limited time to write. I'm getting a babysitter 3 days a week in November, and hoping that'll be enough.

Oh, I should have known better than to think I was the only one. Master thesis... I don't even know if it will reach the word goal, but if I even manage to write most of my thesis it will feel like a victory already.

I feel jealous of my family and friends who are planning their plots and characters, though :(

I want to use NaNoWriMo to put a flame under my butt for my PhD thesis on C18 satire, but I know I can't hit the 50k mark because I need to do more research for my other chapters first! I hope to hit 20k for my first chapter, plus have an annotated bibliography to boot. Since I'm in the UK, I need a chapter completed for 'upgrade', and what better way to get on with it than this?! :-)

Always makes me happy to know there's other people with the same half thought-out crazy ideas as me. My plan for NaNo this year is to get a good chunk of my undergrad senior thesis written - I'm a bio major, though, so that should prove VERY interesting.

I'm also working on finishing the first draph of my PhD thesis (chemistry). So, I am breaking a few rules - it's not a novel, and I've already drafted 1.5 chapters (out of 6... I think). I'm hoping NaNoing will motivate me and stop this horrible, horrible procrastination.

I am SO tempted to do this, but I don't think my thesis proposal would reach 50k. Data collection tho, may help push me in that direction.

But I already have an outline for a fiction novel, so :3

I'm working on a book about New England history with a friend. Our publisher has given us a deadline of June 15th for this book. I'll be working on several chapters of that. I have done the research, just need the kick in the behind. June seem so far off, I keep putting it off. I don't want to wait until the final month, like we did with our first book, and then have to lock ourselves into my co-workers apartment and polish, edit and select photos all in a single weekend. :) I need to spread things out.

No shame in writing academic material! :)

I will be drafting my Materials and Methods section, Abstract, Background, and my preliminary Results sections for my first draft of my Thesis- and writing an autobiographical fiction/memoir ish piece.

If I combine the two, I'm sure I'll go over the 50k word mark.

I am so tempted to dump the novel (book five in a series, each written during NaNos past) and make a serious dent in my textbook for Turkish academics who write in English. I live in Turkey and have been am academic editor for 18 years so I am very familiar with the mistakes they make as Turkish speakers. I have a detailed outline and people tell me-- eagerly-- that it will sell like crazy...

Tick tock tick tock

Glad to see that there are some other academics around.

I'll be working on my dissertation as well. I have three chapters in various stages of completion and two chapters plus the conclusion, which are not yet started. The goal for NANOWRIMO is to finish up the three partially finished chapters and complete one whole additional chapter. That will leave me with a chapter and a conclusion for the rest of the academic year - which would be awesome.

Good luck everyone!!

Yup, I'm going to be working on my discourse book. I am a sociolinguist by trade, and a faculty member in a Lang and Lit department. The book is going to end up closer to 70k, but I'll do my best do produce a chunk of the draft.

Oh, if I hit 35k new words on the discourse book, I'm going to reward myself by drafting 15k of my novel in progress.

Yes, I'm a rebel all the way, I am afraid.

I have this Master's thesis I have been working on forever... I am about halfway done.... I am considering scratching it and starting over...

My goal is completion of the first draft my the end of the month. I want to defend in January. I am in philosophy, writing on identity and gender in video games and gaming culture.

I am keen to try out virtual write-ins, sprints or races, any sort of tasks we can do to keep us motivated. I had an idea that maybe task #1 could be No Reading Without Writing. I can read and read for months and months, feeling productive while doing nothing. So the principle is simple, whenever you read an article/chapter/manuscript, write up a precis on it. This serves two purposes- first, it gives you something to job your memory and organize your thoughts, second, it gets you in the habit of writing. And as a bonus you can possibly cut and paste paragraphs into your work if you need descriptive bits! My goal will be to do this for the whole month. Who's in?

Maybe we should start an academic goals and competitions thread? Anyone interested?

I have this Master's thesis I have been working on forever... I am about halfway done.... I am considering scratching it and starting over...

My goal is completion of the first draft my the end of the month. I want to defend in January. I am in philosophy, writing on identity and gender in video games and gaming culture.

I am keen to try out virtual write-ins, sprints or races, any sort of tasks we can do to keep us motivated. I had an idea that maybe task #1 could be No Reading Without Writing. I can read and read for months and months, feeling productive while doing nothing. So the principle is simple, whenever you read an article/chapter/manuscript, write up a precis on it. This serves two purposes- first, it gives you something to job your memory and organize your thoughts, second, it gets you in the habit of writing. And as a bonus you can possibly cut and paste paragraphs into your work if you need descriptive bits! My goal will be to do this for the whole month. Who's in?

Maybe we should start an academic goals and competitions thread? Anyone interested?

Oh Em Gee. Yesterday a friend was telling me I should be NaNo'ing my PhD thesis instead, I'm supposed to submit it by the end of the year. Oh. Now I'm torn between my desire to fictively procrastinate - and to finish my thesis in a NaNo fashion. That would be cool. So long as anti-gravity sex doesn't show up in my conclusion. Haha.