crazy person stream-of-conciousness chapter update

okey cokes, another nice day at the computer. i've got 7.5 000 words under the belt, plus did some editing, so it's all a bit more coherent.
here is a copy of the chapter to date.

it's not significantly different to yesterday's stuf... well, actually, it is. but it's not saying a whole lot more... oh. it is.
whatever.
thing is, i'm keeping a record so i can track how i work. see how i'm going. and if i get up the guts i'll let the supervisor see. not that she has any interest in reading dumb drafts... though she did say she wouldn't mind at all.
i just want to hand over a semi-coherent draft of a chapter. so i'm working hard on this one, hopefully to be done by the end of tomorrow, or at least by the end of the next working day after that.

i reckon i'll get the body completed tomorrow at least. then i'll go over it and tie up the theoretical loose ends in a nifty conclusion. or maybe in a section that preceds the conclusion, making a clear argument about all this.

it still feels a bit undertheorised. well, i guess you have to start somewhere. and i certainly need to go back and tie in all the references i've not put in.

a side-track that could become a paper. it needs researching, though.
i am especially interested in the stuff on editing/mise en scene etc in dance films in the 30s compared to now. DAMN i forgot to add in the bit about robert altman's film the company, which had awesome dance cinematography.

i think this is an interesting issue... we're still into spectacle these days, but it's blow-up, cgi special effects, not wow! what can the human body do! spectacle. plus there've been mega technological changes. and changes in editing aesthetics. and the way we develop narrative in cinema, using editing, sound, music, etc.
i'm facinated by musicals and how they use song and dance to progress narrative. we only do that in kids animation now and in bollywood cinema.

just to rehash the chapter progress:
- i had a few notes lying around on what i'd read and what i'd thought about this topic. i keep working files where i just add in stuff i think'll apply to a particular chapter as i go along with my research. so i have a 'chapter 4' folder full of files of notes.
- i've put these notes together into a plan for the chapter. i handwrote this, as i needed to do some diagrams. and it helps me think. i spent one day doing this.
- i've started writing up the plan into a chapter form. i have spent two days doing this.
- i've started editing the stuff i've written. i start each day's writing by starting at the beginning of the chapter so far and editing stuff, tidying, etc. then i just keep writing when i get to the end.
- i've also started following up some references. this takes ages, is fiddly and is good when i'm feeling a bit urk-can't-write.

i'm still feeling good about this chapter.

potential problems:
i'll write too much and get off track. i feel this happening already in some bits. esp in that last section on contemporary media use.
i need to go back over it all and tie the loose ends together in terms of my chapter's themes and my overall thesis hypothesis.
this isn't a problem: i am pretty sure of what i need to tighten up.

end goal: around 10 - 12 ooo words worth of a decent chapter on AV media use in swing communities. it will discuss diaspora, local/global, fan studies stuff.
it will not be perfect. it will need to be re-edited and rewritten later on. it is something to hang it all on for now.

timeframe:
i aim to have this chapter done in a form where i can hand it to my supervisor by the end of next week (5th november).

Posted by Dogpossum on October 28, 2004 07:58 PM