Customer Reviews

The Clockwork Muse: A Practical Guide to Writing Theses, Dissertations, and Books

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Okay, I'll admit it--it's only a slight exaggeration to say that this book enabled me to finish my doctoral dissertation, or at least sped up the process by several months. How? By laying out with great clarity, detail, and an almost irritating degree of assurance exactly how to write a thesis, dissertation, or book. There it all is, in black and white--and all of a sudden it seems doable. You may not like Zerubavel's strategies; you may grumble and fuss and argue with them. But at least they give you a framework to adopt, or adapt, or dismantle. And in my case, at least, that was just what I needed--in fact, I wish to goodness I'd picked this book up six months earlier.

Criticisms? Sure. Humility is not the author's long suit--most of his examples come from his own work, his own life, and you keep wishing he'd incorporated more examples and strategies from other people's experiences (one assumes the guy must have colleagues, but you'd scarcely know it from this work). More of that would have broadened and strengthened his book greatly. There isn't just one right way, and not everything Zerubavel suggests will work for everyone, but that's easy to forget in the face of the magisterial self-assurance his words convey. Never mind; the stuff works, and you can work with it, or against it, so that something from it will work for you. I read the paperback, but I'm buying the hardcover for my permanent library, and I'm recommending it strongly to every daunted graduate student I know. Zerubavel's ego clearly doesn't need boosting, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to give The Clockwork Muse my highest recommendation anyway.

When I was writing my dissertation, a hard-working and prolific colleague recommended this book to me. I borrowed it from my university library. It had an almost instant effect on my work, and I finished my opus quickly and relatively painlessly. Recently, I found myself procrastinating and meandering again, so I decided to buy the book!

Things I like about the Clockwork Muse: it's very short. It gives very specific, pragmatic advice. It is light on molly-coddling psychobabble, unlike Joan Bolker's "Write Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day." The latter is useful in its own way, but it didn't do anything for my work habits.

When you are faced with the daunting task of a major writing project (a book, a thesis) it can be nice to know how others have done it--especially your first time around. 'The Clockwork Muse' offers two things for those in that situation: structure, and examples. The first of these (structure) helps with the practical necessity of breaking the project down into its executable elements: a writing schedule, outlines and drafts, timetables, and monitoring and ensuring progress. The second of these (the examples) are helpful to those of us who, in our own fits of self-doubt, need to know that another human has met similar obstacles and has overcome them.

'Clockwork Muse' manages to do both of these pretty well. It is stronger on the first, the structure. It reminds us that the overall job of a major writing project is taken one sentence, one page, one chapter at a time. In just about 100 pages, this book provides a basic, workable structure that can be modified by most writers to suit their individual needs. As far as examples and anecdotes go--how actual writers fare under the proposed structure, the author mostly offers examples from his own experience. While this is certainly interesting, it is one-dimensional; it would have been nice to have a wide variety of examples of how different authors, grad students, or journalists cope with the day-to-day prospect of writing a book or dissertation or long article. (And really, how helpful--or bizarre--is it to know that the author of `Clockwork Muse,' Evitar Zerubavel, sits in different chairs to write different drafts of a paragraph? To each his own....)

Not all of the suggestions offered here will work for all authors. For examples, some of us do write multiple drafts of a book straight through from start to finish. Others of us write more haphazardly, bouncing around from section to section and chapter to chapter, but still producing a solid, finished product. Zerubavel himself prefers one method over another, but in the end, his practical advice on structuring a writing project is this book's real strength. It offers sound practical help, regardless of one's writing style, and makes a good quick reference to lean upon for some comfort during those late-night moments of doubt when chapter four just isn't coming together.

This was one of those books I bought in a fit of procrastination, hoping that just owning such a book might magically propel my dissertation towards its much yearned for end. The title sounded good too, you know, with the right mixture of creativity and discipline.

It was an utter disappointment, I'm afraid. I've heard all the advice in it a million times before - there's nothing here that you can't think of yourself. Figure out when you like writing. Do mechanical stuff at times you're not as alert, and real writing when you're raring to go. Make an outline, divide it all into manageable chunks. Stick to it, pace yourself, be a tortoise not a hare. Make a schedule and keep it!

There's not really much of the muse in there at all, is there? Of course, if this is the way you work best, sure, go for it, it's good advice. But you've probably already worked it out for yourself, haven't you?

I attended a lecture on a university campus on "Finishing Your Dissertation on Time," and this book was mentioned over and over again. It's a small volume, but it packs a big punch. The sections are really well-organized, and the prose is concise and clear. My colleagues all swear by this little book; it provides practical and logistical advice for making writing a habit so that you can tackle large/long projects efficiently.

As a University Professor I have found this book helpful to keep me focused and on track. The advice may seem obvious but I reread periodically as a reminder if I get bogged down. I strongly recommend to my colleagues and students.

This book is short and to the point! I am currently engaged in writing my MBA thesis and I believe that I found the guidance that I am looking for in this book. I highly recommend this book for its basic yet effectual approach to thinking about/writing your thesis or dissertation. The book may be too basic for seasoned writers/scholars but for a novice scholar like myself, I find it extremely useful.

For a guide to effectively organizing one's writing, it is curious how poorly written and organized this book is. There is some potential here for a practical guide for the academic or professional writer rather than the creative artiste, particularly in regards to scheduling your time or managing multiple drafts of your work. But such possibilities are washed away by the severely padded presentation of this book, with a very loose layout and repetitive prose that are highly evident even in the mere 96 pages of text here. For instance, there are eight different space-consuming versions of Zerubavel's own outline, while the chapter on scheduling is padded to the point of absurdity with repetitive author testimonials and an endless parade of cheesy non-breakthroughs like "learn to identify the best times for your writing." The material covered here could be much more useful and believable in a journal article of less than ten pages in length. But of course, then a publisher wouldn't be able to charge full book price for this ridiculously padded pamphlet.

The most curious thing about this so-called writing guide from a so-called writing expert is its pathetic obviousness. Pronouncements like sticking to your deadlines and monitoring the progress of your drafts will not be enlightening to anyone in the only possible market demographic for this book - practitioners who already know enough about writing to seek out a guide far more advanced than this. Those who might actually be enlightened by this book's shallow and obvious recommendations have probably never written anything in their lives, and hence would never think of buying this book in the first place. Ironically, even Zerubavel recommends here that you should spend your budgeted time writing rather than engaging in pursuits that do not further your goals - such as wasting your time on useless books like this. This insubstantial and ineffective guide is a non-entity. [~doomsdayer520~]

This is a very book on the subject of thesis and dissertations. It is one of many excellent books on the subject. The problem I have is with the Amazon shipping methods. When I pay to ship a package, I expect to be able to select the shipper used. I do not like USPS shipping. I greatly prefer UPS or Fedex; they are much better. Amazon needs to change the shippers they use.