JennyD Posted July 22 Posted July 22 Thanks for joining the WTM Writers Room! Apart from homeschooling my two teenagers still at home (another one just graduated), I am a part-time academic. I have written article and other short pieces over the years, but a health scare last year lit a fire under me to finally get going on a book project. It's going to take years but I am very excited and also daunted. What are you working on? 1
elegantlion Posted July 22 Posted July 22 I'm working on my dissertation. I've turned in drafts of 3 out of 5 chapters, lots of editing will be needed on those. I'm hoping to finish by next spring but I need to be really productive for the rest of the year to make that happen. I also work part-time at our local library. My original life goal was to publish fiction after ds graduated from homeschooling. That changed with divorce. Ds has now graduated from college and I've been in school for a decade. Working in a library has made me want to write fiction again. For now, dissertation is the focus, the other stuff will have to wait. 1
JennyD Posted July 22 Author Posted July 22 28 minutes ago, elegantlion said: I'm working on my dissertation. I've turned in drafts of 3 out of 5 chapters, lots of editing will be needed on those. I'm hoping to finish by next spring but I need to be really productive for the rest of the year to make that happen. I also work part-time at our local library. My original life goal was to publish fiction after ds graduated from homeschooling. That changed with divorce. Ds has now graduated from college and I've been in school for a decade. Working in a library has made me want to write fiction again. For now, dissertation is the focus, the other stuff will have to wait. Very exciting! 3 of 5 chapters sounds like you are very on track -- does that mean that you just have the introduction and conclusion yet to write? And are you done with all the research?
elegantlion Posted July 22 Posted July 22 5 hours ago, JennyD said: Very exciting! 3 of 5 chapters sounds like you are very on track -- does that mean that you just have the introduction and conclusion yet to write? And are you done with all the research? Thank you! I've completed most of the research. The 5 chapters do not include introduction or conclusion. 1
JennyD Posted July 25 Author Posted July 25 Would love to hear from some other members of the group about your writing projects -- don't be shy!
Amoret Posted July 25 Posted July 25 (edited) I am working on a writing and literature curriculum -- it has been in progress for many, many years but it feels like it is finally coming together. In my previous life, I was a tenure-track English professor. When we started homeschooling, I thought this would be a fun project, and it has been fun, but also incredibly difficult to wrap my mind around. I have created all of the writing and lit materials that I have used with both of my kids, but there is a huge gap between creating something for your own kids and creating a marketable product. I shelved it for quite a while, but picked it back up about a year or so ago and have been trying to get it into shape. It's a huge project and I have tons and tons of stuff written, but it's a mess and content is spread across dozens of different files and drafts. Edited July 26 by Amoret 1
JennyD Posted July 26 Author Posted July 26 On 7/25/2024 at 2:34 PM, Amoret said: I am working on a writing and literature curriculum -- it has been in progress for many, many years but it feels like it is finally coming together. In my previous life, I was a tenure-track English professor. When we started homeschooling, I thought this would be a fun project, and it has been fun, but also incredibly difficult to wrap my mind around. I have created all of the writing and lit materials that I have used with both of my kids, but there is a huge gap between creating something for your own kids and creating a marketable product. I shelved it for quite a while, but picked it back up about a year or so ago and have been trying to get it into shape. It's a huge project and I have tons and tons of stuff written, but it's a mess and content is spread across dozens of different files and drafts. Wow, that sounds incredible. What age group is it for?
Amoret Posted July 27 Posted July 27 (edited) 14 hours ago, JennyD said: Wow, that sounds incredible. What age group is it for? The writing curriculum is for all ages, actually. In the end, I think it's going to be a series of quite a few individual books -- or, probably, digital downloads -- for three levels (foundations, primary grades, and intermediate grades). It's a combination of short lessons and longer projects (both academic and imaginative). I want it to be the sort of thing where parents can pick and choose among a lot of different resources to build their own writing curriculum (or writing across the curriculum) that would suit their kids. I am more than a little doubtful, though, that there would actually be a market for it right now since it is somewhat unconventional in its approach, and it would require some level parent engagement and effort (not a lot, but it's definitely not the type of thing you could just hand off to your kids and let them go). I have solid drafts of several individual books done and more in progress, so at this point, I feel like I just have to just give it a try and see how it goes. My problem is that I could just keep writing and reorganizing and tweaking and revising forever and never finish it -- or get distracted by a shiny new project to work on instead of the far less interesting work of revising and formatting this one. The literature stuff I am working on is for the upper grades, but it's still pretty nebulous at this point. I have some notes and drafts of various things, but none of it has yet revealed itself to me in its final form. 😀 Edited July 27 by Amoret 1
JennyD Posted July 29 Author Posted July 29 On 7/27/2024 at 8:27 AM, Amoret said: get distracted by a shiny new project to work on instead of the far less interesting work of revising and formatting this one. LOL, that's always the hard part!
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