Getting it out there
We are now at the stage of the third draft. Hurrah!
The third draft is the place where we have created a piece of more or less the final length, we have inserted nearly all the relevant references (there might be a few places where you are still chasing up those final missing pieces), and we have a structure in place, albeit not a settled one.
The third draft requires deep work. We are crafting our ideas and linkages, we are coming up with new analyses and insights, and we are trying to create a coherent whole. We are still largely creating new text, or new sections. We need to go back to our introduction and conclusions to really make sure these actually match up. Do we conclude what we said? Do we actually do what we promised in the introduction? Alter these so they do match.
After we have done this, it is time to circulate your work. I think of this as the social draft. Deciding who to circulate it at this point is up to you: it could be your writing group, mentors or a close friend. They don’t need to understand the deep subject matter necessarily. You could give this draft to your supervisor, as long as you are prepared to for the critical feedback, knowing that your chapter is nowhere near finished. You must explain to them that it is not a complete first draft. You need to negotiate this with them - are they happy to take work in this state? Don’t drag out the writing time of one chapter over months because you submit an unfinished piece twice.
It should take you about 6 weeks to read/ research and draft a chapter (using the five stage drafting process here) alongside your other obligations. This course runs (if you are following it daily) on around a 6 week drafting timetable. It may take you a bit longer, especially at the beginning of the PhD, and that is OK. Go at the pace that works with your planned PhD timetable and mutually agreed by your supervisor.
You should not go 2 months without feedback on your writing, ever. If you are meeting them weekly, this is not an issue, you can submit the entire piece of work in week 6/7 to them after it has been drafted all the way to the finish of this course.
It is really important to get feedback when it is at this relatively complete but still rough stage before you have become wedded to the text and are resistant to change. I know letting someone else read incomplete work is tough on your nerves. But the whole thing is incomplete until you submit after 3 years and you must get feedback before then! This is just something you have to get used to.
It is a delicate balance I know, and you will need to brace for feedback. Remember to uncouple yourself from the product - this is still a work in progress, halfway to being finished. Depending on where you are, this chapter might not even survive to the final version of your PhD. This is how you learn. So don’t get defensive.
Today I will…
Write for 2 hours minimum, working my way down my task list;
Decide how much longer I need on this draft before I can circulate (i.e. not when it’s perfectly finished - this is far too late);
Once circulated, continue writing on another piece in my research pipeline.