During our recent meeting, we discussed dissertation advice from recent CGU graduates. The following advice is from J.R. Hustwit, CGU Ph.D. in Religion and Philosophy '07:"I don't still have that timeline, but all I did was print out a MS Outlook calendar (or another calendar) and divided the time up into equal sections, one for each chapter, and highlighted the days a different color for each chapter...it was a good idea in theory, but I took twice as long. My advice is to write a little every day, even if you are doing stream of consciousness or outlining. Also, don't write more than 4 hours/day...you'll burn out. Finally, get a peer group for therapy/bitching, so you have realistic expectations about your progress based on what others are doing (and don't invite guys [who are super competitive]). Also, expect your first draft of anything to suck. You may think it's really good, but it sucks. If you expect this, it won't hurt when it is butchered by your advisor / committee."
Dr. Hustwit's take on dissertating jives with the advice of Anne Lamott, author of Bird by Bird, one of the best books about writing there is. We know, you've got a ton of things to read already. But if you're struggling with writer's block due to perfectionism or the Evil Voices Inside Your Head, take a look at Lamott's essay, "Shitty First Drafts."
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