I'm torn. I can't decide if I want to do a Creative Writing thesis or a Non-Creative Thesis.
There are pros and cons to each side. Let's start with the Creative Thesis.
Creative Pros:
I am very creative.
I currently have a ton of ideas to pull from/work with.
I would have a blast writing a creative thesis.
I would easily be able to relate my own work with a field of writing (like magical realism or that "everyday horror").
I would be challenged, but maybe not as much as a non-creative thesis.
Creative Cons:
I would be challenged, but maybe not as much as a non-creative thesis.
It might be too easy.
I may not fully relate it to the area of writing.
A creative thesis may not open many doors for me career (or continued education) -wise.
Non-Creative Pros:
I am very interested in language learning/acquisition as well as linguistics and rhetoric.
With this thesis and background, I could travel more for work.
I may have a bigger job market or greater opportunities (education included).
I would be challenged a lot.
I would learn something.
I would more easily be able to become part of the academia in a particular field.
I could publish my works/findings/research and become more well known/have even more opportunities come my way.
I could eventually (or do this with my thesis) link the impact linguistics/language has on writing whether it is creative or not, and how these ties influence authors/readers/researchers on multiple levels.
Non-Creative Cons:
I would be challenged a LOT.
I might get burned out.
I may not like it as much as I thought.
Dr. Storm would probably be my committee chair for my thesis defense. (EEP!)
What do you think?
It still seems like this is a matter of what you want to do with your career and what you are going to enjoy doing for your thesis. Maybe you need to make a list of jobs you would really want to do and go with the option that bests supports that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Frances. The more I think about this dilemma, the more I find myself thinking of how cool it would be to work with language in culture and literature especially. An example would be how a written language affects the culture, or how cultural phenomena affect the written and/or spoken language--Or even how a spoken language might affect a written one. Or in the case of translated materials--how one language affects another. This is in terms of pronunciation, linguistics, word definitions/creations, terminology, and other similar translation/dictation issues. How does the tone or language used in young adult literature affect a reader? How does that compare with the affect that might be left behind from adult fiction? How do the early experiences with reading and differences between written/spoken languages set the path for a particular person to better comprehend other literature as they grow older (or not comprehend)? Of course there are going to be dialect and slang issues, and this is also where the whole thing begins dipping into psychology and behavioral studies. It is all very broad. I feel like I could narrow this easily, once I finally decide exactly which way I want to go with it. Either way, I feel like there is a meeting with Dr. Storm in my future.
ReplyDelete