sticking with it

Back to an evening post, using my home computer, for what that is worth. Hmm, the keyboard seems more suited to my clumsy typing--can't overlook the role of the keyboard in successful / pleasurable writing experience. Can't overlook any of the tools, really: laptop versus desktop versus pen and paper or whatever tools one is drawn to. I have told the story that I wrote my dissertation on a laptop, but I haven't ever really written in that same sustained, focused, what seemed to me under-control-way since then, but I haven't used a laptop extensively since about 1998, either. I now have one, but it is my secondary computer, my office computer still taking on the burden of the typing / working. The keyboard there, however, drives me nuts: kinda sticky, really dirty (despite my feeble efforts to clean it), and, well, there are a variety of factors in my office that probably inhibit productivity. I better not make myself too depressed.

Both days this week I have been falterning on my writing projects, loosing a sense of direction. What started out as "a paper that I could present from" evolved into a paper that I could try and get published, but it was getting way too detailed to think about as the paper from which to present. I started up a PPT file for the presentation, and that seems to have helped keep me focused on the presentation, but leaves the paper sitting as a lame duck. Now I am starting to think about the paper as a chapter in McLuhan for Compositionists, even though it has a strong McCloud focus. Tentatively thinking about the paper as a chapter on re-visiting "hot and cool."

Also faltered because I started to play around with a drawing program called "Expressions," but after wasting an hour or so, I could see that the learning curve is simply more than I can deal with. Just haven't used enough drawing programs, and just don't have the time to mess with one right now. Not soon. Not till I write a book. Went back into PPT and did some little diagrams--seems about what I need, what I am after. I am absolutely pathetic as a visual compositionists, but luckily I am a teacher, not a visual compositionists ; ) Lucky, or slightly discouraged by that realization.

Tomorrow's plan: take a look at the book prospectus guidelines for CW series and for Utah State--see if doing a prospective will get me on track and keep me there. I realized that if I made the McCloud paper a chapter, it is a long way along, and it will really help me with the chapter on Medium is the Massage. That might give me three pretty substantial chapters, a prospectus, and a solid vision for the other two chapters (or two other chapters) in the book.

Also take some time to keep developing the PPT.

Ahh, ten minutes a day--just what I need to get organized.