Friday, June 05, 2009

Secrets of Book Writing

My big sabbatical project is writing a book - about how scientists think. I've been working on this steadily since the fall. I was about half-done (ca 40,000 words done anyway) when I wrote the introductory chapter. I tell my students that writing can clarify your thinking. This did - although what is clarified was that the way I had structured the book overall could have been better. So now I am engaged in serious verbal carnage, ripping apart 6 chapters and reassembling them according to the new plan.

The day I began, an ad appeared on my Gmail for "how to write a book in two weeks" -- sometimes those ads cut a little too close to home! As if? If only!

On deck for the coming week: finish an essay tentatively titled "topophilia" for Nature Chemistry, column for the Catholic Standard & Times and two chapters for The Book.

2 comments:

  1. If you had figured out the two week thing, there would have been no need for the sabbatical. Who knows, maybe just a long weekend would have been enough... hmmm seems the retreat has not cured me from being a goofass.

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  2. true enough, or I would be doing something different!

    And did you expect the retreat to cure you of being goofy??

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