“Goffman became a proxy for old and unsettled arguments about ethnography that extended far beyond her own particular case. What is the continuing role of the qualitative in an era devoted to data? When the politics of representation have become so fraught, who gets to write about whom?”
Gideon Lewis-Krause, “The Trials of Alice Goffman,” New York Times Magazine, January 12, 2016
In this reblogged post, Daniel K offers some insights and advice on writer’s block — sometimes a problem for thesis writers as well as professional authors. Another useful source of comfort and concrete advice on the “work avoidance problem” is Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art and its sequel, Turning Pro. If you are feeling “stuck” — take a look! — Edprof
I recently got into a discussion on another social network on the subject of writer’s block, and I learned that the issue of whether writer’s block is real or not is actually a point of contention. I’ve always taken the side that writer’s block is a very real thing (I’m a writer, it’s an occupational hazard), but there are many more who disagree, even to the point where I was in the minority in said discussion. I thought it was fitting for a blog post, both since I commonly write about writing and because I feel rather strongly on the subject. I should warn you, though: this post will get long.
The post in question was basically ten quotes from various authors talking about how writer’s block doesn’t exist, how it’s actually more like idea block and how anyone who uses that excuse is obviously just coming up with…
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Qualitative Research in Education 