I feel that I am definitely into the PhD now. I keep oscillating (with a degree of panic) between the thesis and the novel. In terms of the thesis I need to read a significant number of novels; thirty five published pre-1930 and thirty six post-1930. I am hoping to read all the pre-1930 novels before Christmas and am already fourteen down. I am also busy sourcing them all as cheaply as possible (preferably free). Then there are the critical theory sources to track down and read and I am also making good progress on that. I had a wobble last week because the draft framework for the thesis just wasn’t correct. I had drafted it as part of my application but of course subsequent research has impacted on it. I have re-cast it slightly and can now sleep more soundly.
In terms of the novel, I am going through a very interesting phase. I have now drafted 21% (yes that extra 1% is important) and am therefore becoming comfortable with the tone, characters etc. The most interesting aspect is that there appear to be a plethora of accepted motifs, structures etc related to WW1 fiction. I am referring primarily to novels of the time. These novels are, in turn, closely related to memoir. I have just finished re-reading Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory (I love it and strongly recommend it) and it would seem that I have already incorporated some of these motifs etc in my draft so far. This is presumably because I have been totally absorbed in the subject matter. I am seeing my novel in a new way. It is story supported by a detailed narrative but it can also be read in different ways depending on the reader’s knowledge of the socioeconomic, political and cultural context. Whereas I previously felt that I was creating something in a fairly linear fashion, I now feel as if I am weaving a mesh. Research for the novel regarding what my characters could and could not have done was necessary but extensive reading around the place of WW1 novels in a cultural context has been invaluable. What does this all mean to a contemporary writer attempting a WW1 novel? Well that takes me back to the thesis...
In terms of the novel, I am going through a very interesting phase. I have now drafted 21% (yes that extra 1% is important) and am therefore becoming comfortable with the tone, characters etc. The most interesting aspect is that there appear to be a plethora of accepted motifs, structures etc related to WW1 fiction. I am referring primarily to novels of the time. These novels are, in turn, closely related to memoir. I have just finished re-reading Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory (I love it and strongly recommend it) and it would seem that I have already incorporated some of these motifs etc in my draft so far. This is presumably because I have been totally absorbed in the subject matter. I am seeing my novel in a new way. It is story supported by a detailed narrative but it can also be read in different ways depending on the reader’s knowledge of the socioeconomic, political and cultural context. Whereas I previously felt that I was creating something in a fairly linear fashion, I now feel as if I am weaving a mesh. Research for the novel regarding what my characters could and could not have done was necessary but extensive reading around the place of WW1 novels in a cultural context has been invaluable. What does this all mean to a contemporary writer attempting a WW1 novel? Well that takes me back to the thesis...
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