When I started this blog it was partly to keep a record of my Ph D studies, which is something that doesn't actually happen all that much. There again there's a limit to the number of blog entries you can do that say 'Read all day'. It reminds me of Molesworth's attempts to keep a diary which very quickly devolved into a litany of 'Forget what did, forget what did, played'.
Anyway I recently produced a piece of written work for my supervisor and I'm rather dreading the feedback. This is because when I am working on something I think it's really good. I have to think it's the best piece of work I'm capable of at the time, or I couldn't submit it. Then after it's given in/sent off for about half an hour I'm really pleased with it. Then the doubts start to creep in. After a couple of hours I've convinced myself it's superficial, badly argued and un-scholarly. By the next day I have added badly written to the tally. After a week I never want to see the thing again because it's rubbish.
Very very occasionally something I wrote stands up to my scrutiny. I still think the thesis I did for my Leeds MA on Elizabeth Gaskell is good, and every couple of years I get it off the book shelf and re-read it. My UHI MA on the other hand I have not re-read since the final check before submission. Can't bear to think how below par it turned out to be.
I'm hoping that my Ph D thesis once complete tends more to the Gaskell end of the scale. Obvs.
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