I don’t like writing essays. This is perhaps a sad statement for somebody halfway through an honours English degree, and yet it is true.
Essays, at their finest, are overly proscribed. Very particular in their approach to information and how to distill it, I understand the need and purpose of the structure while simultaneously chaffing against its confines. I don’t want to think of a thesis in the way that my professors (and academia at large) needs me to think of a thesis: I just want to tell you what I know, what I think I know, and what I definitely do not know but would really like to know. But you can’t do that in academia, at least not directly. You have to prove and counter-prove every sentence: make a statement, quote the source, provide context, make a conclusion, repeat for however many pages the prof has requested. And again, I get it… but that doesn’t mean I like it.
I should get to it. With any luck it won’t take all day (spoilers: it will) and I can get a few thousand words on the novel done as well!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!