false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172202871m/149482.jpg 149482 2 "Fifteen minutes!" you say. "That's too good to be true!" Okay, author Joan Bolker admits she gave her book the title <I>Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day</I> to get the reader's attention. And she admits that it's unlikely you'll actually finish a dissertation at that speed. As she tells her clients, however, a mere 15 minutes is much better than no writing at all when they're stuck. As a clinical psychologist who cofounded the Harvard Writing Center, Bolker has helped hundreds of writers complete their dissertations. She offers suggestions on how to create a writing addiction so that you feel incomplete if you don't write every day and stresses the need to set reasonable goals and deadlines for yourself to keep from getting discouraged. She also offers strategies for dealing with both internal and external distractions and for fending off writer's block. Even more important is the advice on some of the more awkward issues related to dissertation writing, such as how to choose your adviser carefully. (For example, when faced with the tradeoff between a famous advisor who is inaccessible and a less famous advisor who is willing to make time for you, Bolker advises, "If choosing a politically advantageous, famous advisor makes it unlikely that you'll complete your degree, it's clearly not worth it.") The book even includes a helpful appendix for advisers that could become the basis for an honest discussion of what student and adviser can expect from each other. Throughout this excellent book, Bolker acts as a therapist, cheerleader, and drill sergeant, all rolled into one.<p> While some of the book's advice is of interest only to dissertation writers, much of the information--on battling writer's block, for instance--is valuable to anybody engaged in writing. Rather than being filled with rules defining how to become a great writer, <I>Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day</I> is about finding the process by which you can be the most productive--it's a set of exercises that you can use to find out more about you and the way you write. Along the way, you'll do a bit of writing. And that's what matters, especially when you experience writer's block--as Bolker says, "Write anything, because writing is writing." With its helpful advice and supportive tone, <I>Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day</I> should be required reading for anyone considering writing a dissertation. <I>--C.B. Delaney</I> 144269 15 8 1998 Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis total:57|5:10|4:22|3:20|2:4|1:1| 57 207 122 22 4 0 false false Sat May 16 10:02:11 -0700 2009 Sat May 16 10:02:50 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 25 11:32:51 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 11:33:18 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 13 06:07:14 -0700 2007 Sun Feb 03 12:37:54 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jun 19 20:23:44 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 08:56:22 -0700 2008
The most helpful piece of advice so far is to "write in order to think." Ignore the admonishment you received from your high school English teachers t...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jun 02 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 18 11:12:23 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 11:12:34 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Dec 15 13:12:48 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 17 11:10:31 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Tue Jul 24 09:42:39 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 24 09:45:21 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 14 18:29:58 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 14 18:33:27 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 07 11:53:24 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 03 07:41:20 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Jul 16 09:41:32 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 16 09:45:27 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 17 09:28:00 -0700 2007 Sat Mar 14 10:33:26 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Thu Jun 21 15:31:15 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 14:52:16 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jan 16 08:18:01 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 16 08:21:19 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Fri Jun 01 20:44:35 -0700 2007 Fri Jun 01 20:46:04 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 22 11:13:40 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 22 11:20:42 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 23 07:26:53 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 16 17:35:06 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 16 07:00:41 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 16 07:01:44 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Mon Apr 21 18:36:46 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 21 18:38:08 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Sat Jan 12 19:22:39 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 12 19:23:06 -0800 2008
BUT I DON'T NEED IT ANYMORE!! MUAWAHAHAHA!]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jul 03 09:41:47 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 03 09:42:39 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=149482