Sunday, 21 October 2012

Revising the Intro: owch

Ah dear.

I have started revising my intro which in itself is actually fine.  In a way it is great because I look at it now and where 6 months ago I saw half a chapter I now see a load of unnecessary twaddle.  So, a lot of deleting has gone on.  I am a bit worried about this because I am feeling quite ruthless today, like you do when you need a good clear out of your junk cupboard and feel quite unemotional about everything so chuck it...  I might think back in a few days and be like 'oh...  where's such and such a bit gone?'  Eek!

BUT it is not so good because I feel sad about my lit review chapter.  I can see that, as it will be incorporated into my intro, a lot of the chapter will be cut out, all the intro's and concl will go, it really needs to cut the chase a lot more and that is just fine...  but also a LOT of explanatory background text that I spent ages finding references for, writing out and making sure it made sense and, well, explained stuff.  i don't need that.  And it hurts.  It is stuff I don't want to throw out!  It is perfectly decent material!  I have no use for it but maybe someone else could have it...  But no, it is, of course, of no use to anyone else.  I have to just cut my losses and leave :(

In fairness it is the only time I have had to do this in the whole PhD so it isn't that bad I suppose.  But then again.  Owch.  I am fond of it!  It's not like I think I need it, I don't - I can see this now.  But...  just, owch.  Weeks of work deleted, just like that.

But then I suppose once i have gut up my gumption and deleted and re-worked it then I will be half way toward finishing my intro, which is another chapter I would have spent ages writing gumph for if I wasn't grafting this chapter into it instead.  So time wasted in one place has actually been time saved in another.

I just don't want to delete 8000 words!  sob.

x J

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