“But from adventure to adventure, from page to page, from drafts to drafts, I swear I’ve never done it before… “ How are you Serge Lama Benzi? Just fine! Your title has inspired me to sing a song… But enough joking around, let’s get on with you and Carmen!
In the last episode, Véronique shared her enthusiasm for the creative process of writing. Today, with Carmen, we’re exploring this aspect of doctoral research in a little more detail.
So, let’s summarise: (1) defining the subject – (2) identifying sources and gathering information – (3) reading books and articles; steps (2) and (3) are done in parallel – and for step (4)? writing!
When do you decide to start writing? That’s a very individual question. For my part, I put off this stage until I felt ready. Everything I’ve accumulated over the last few years has circulated freely in my mind. I need an idea, an observation, a crucial element to start writing: “writing to think”, as our guest of the day so aptly put it.
When Carmen and I bumped into each other at the printer at the start of the new school year, we updated each other on our goals for the year. Just a few months apart, we’re both in the long, exciting, exhilarating process of writing! Come on, admit it, Gazengel, this is your favourite part! Yes, I freely admit that it’s an exciting part… but it takes so much effort! There are days when it flows by itself and others when obtaining five sentences seems like such a challenge! As my friend Charlotte, also a PhD student, once said to me when I was struggling to write, there’s no point in forcing yourself. But that’s another subject…
So this third episode explores the thoughts of two PhD students who are wondering how they can approach writing without losing their minds!
Carmen and Gazengel face the mountain, then dive into a lake before joining the corridors of the University of Luxembourg.
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Gazengel – Ooooh Tropy!
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Gazengel – Homepage
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Gazengel – Thesis parenthesis