Dissertation Mechanics: I like Writing Footnotes

I've been feeling rather sheepish about my blog lately. It's been so neglected, pushed aside by the malaise of dissertation writing and the silly one-liners of facebook. I'm concerned, however, that my lack of blogging may also signify a basic dullness and lack of creativity in my life. So, I'm thinking, in a sort of "fix the underlying problem by addressing the symptoms" approach, that I'll start forcing myself to blog more frequently in the hopes that I'll make my life more exciting in order to avoid boring myself and y'all with constant sniveling posts about how painful it is to write chapter 1.

However, today's post (because I like to be contrary) is going to be about my dissertation and how it's hard to write it.* I'm also thinking it'll be the first in a series titled "Dissertation Mechanics" in which I reflect on the little things that go into making this enormous document.

Chapter four is in a solid-enough stage that both advisors have allowed it to be set aside for the moment and encouraged instead a turn to chapter one. Chapter one is that magical chapter in which everything of importance to the dissertation gets introduced (though I've been mentally pushing a few things to a previously-non-existent introduction). This means laying out the skeleton of the three historical case studies and sketching in (to stretch the physical metaphor as grossly as possible) the lymph, circulatory, and nervous systems that will tie the muscles and bones of the chapters together into a (supposedly) cohesive whole.

Now, starting chapter one has not, thus far, been quite as painful as starting chapter four was. After all, I have a much better sense of what chapter one is supposed to be doing (see above). That said, getting going on Ch1 hasn't been exactly a cakewalk either ... which brings me to the true topic of this post:

I like writing footnotes.

They are so straight-forward. They are so isolated. They don't need to flow into other paragraphs, they don't need to forecast particular topics, and they don't raise questions about whether they ought to be introduced four pages ago. They are anchored to a single idea and, blessedly, their whole purpose is to mop up the messy ideas that just don't fit into the paragraph but are necessary for the reader's full understanding. Also, they're usually simple explanations of facts (or of contending opinions) and don't need careful analysis. Plus, if I do discover that I need to give that info in the main body, they are so easily cut and pasted into the appropriate paragraph.

At least, even if none of those positives are exactly true, they feel that way to me as I'm writing them, and that allows me to pound them out quickly and feel a sense of accomplishment. I'm thinking that I should maybe just write my whole dissertation in footnotes and then transfer them to the main body (except, that would ruin their special feeling and defeat the purpose).

Also? Footnotes help me deal with one of the great anxieties I have about writing this dissertation: the fear that people smarter/more knowledgeable about this topic than I am will read it and think "but you didn't consider X" or "clearly you didn't research the complexities of Y," just because I'm making some necessary simplifications in order to get my broader point across. With footnotes, I can nod to the complexities and even explain why I'm simplifying them here without having to turn the dissertation itself into a convoluted treatise of self-defense and circular argument.

I love footnotes. And I like writing them.

Also? I've been thinking as I write this post? I like writing blog posts too. The sentences just flow out and my fingers keep moving and that's so satisfying. It's a similar feeling to writing footnotes. If only I could transfer some of this perpetual motion to the body paragraphs of my dissertation, even for just a few moments, I'd be oh-so-happy.

Writing all this is making me realize I'll have to write another post soon on my defining character trait: impatience. Stay tuned.

For now, back to the dissertation. Perhaps this blog post break will rub off on my chapter writing and i'll have a few moments of churning out sentences. We can only hope.

*If dissertation posts make you want to hurl, don't worry. You can look forward to next week when I should have some posts (with pictures!) about our trip to St. Louis & Jefferson City and our visit with our dear friend the Phenomenally brilliant, wine-drinking, literary lawyer (PBW-DLL, aka Anthony). You're also likely to get a post about the adventure of getting home from the airport at 7pm on inauguration day.