Day 1

Today I started at 8:04 and ended at 9:05.  Instead of a word count, I am going for a solid hour of uninterrupted work at each session I have scheduled.  My goal was to start at 8:00 am, but I got aslightly later start than I wanted.  I look at today as a dry run of NaBeCreMo anyhow.  Still, I got a solid hour of work in.

What I accomplished:

• I read and took notes on one source (I have maybe another 8 or so items to read to finish with this aspect of the project--my goal is tackle one at the beginning of each session until I have exhausted my bibliography)
• I worked on fleshing out my analysis.  Without getting into too much detail in this post, I did a lot of work in the rhythm and meter section today, which needed it.
• I started a detailed transcription of one of the songs I am analyzing.  I only transcribed 7 measures, but the rhythm is really difficult!

That's it for today.  I don't have a Tuesday session scheduled, so I will be back at it on Wednesday.

Welcome to my new blog!

Thank you for reading my blog.  I am setting up this blog as a way for me to hold myself accountable as I work toward my creative scholarly goals.  I have my Aunt Lynn and wonderful partner, Kate, to thank for the idea to create this blog.  Starting in the month of November, we are taking part in what Lynn has called "NaBeCreMo" (National Be Creative Month), modeled upon the already established "NaNoWriMo" (National Novel Writing Month) project that Lynn participated in last year and will participate in again this year.  You can read about Lynn's experiences in NaNoWriMo and her other writing endeavors in her blog, "Present Letters."

Instead of trying to meet a word-count goal like I would if I were attempting to write a novel in a month, I am going to try to meet several research goals important to me during the month of November.  I am really trying to push myself beyond what I think I could comfortably accomplish, keeping in the spirit of NaNoWriMo to challenge one's self.  So here is what I am setting out to accomplish:

1. Write/finish/edit the essay I am currently working on (and have been for several years) and submit it to some respectable peer reviewed journal for publication.
2. Write a proposal for a book (a new, exciting idea struck me a few weeks ago that I want to pursue).  I plan to include the essay mentioned as goal #1 above as a sample chapter in this book.
3. Start the initial research and gathering sources for other chapters in this book.

Every day that I work toward these goals I intend to make a brief post on this blog to summarize what I have accomplished.  My working days each week are Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and once over the weekend.  If a daily post seems to be too time consuming, I may switch to a weekly post.  We shall see how it goes.

I am starting my month on Monday (I like starting new things at the very beginning of the week) even though it will be one day shy of November.  I am very excited about this, and I can't wait to get started.

Finally, a note on the title I chose for this blog:

• creative because I feel all original work--whether scholarly or otherwise--is creative in nature, and I don't want to lose sight of the creative aspect of writing interesting prose even if it is research-based non-fiction.
• academic because ultimately the work I am doing serves my professional goals as an educator and scholar in academia.
• pursuits because for me, the word "pursuits" connotes active energy, urgency, and excitement.  Being goal-oriented isn't enough.  Pursuing my scholarly passions is what I am after.