On Planning a Thesis

[post idea originally started on 4 Dec, 2009...]

So I officially have another semester in the books, and am down to three real "classes", and the thesis. The classes are already figured out (taking two this semester [Spring 2010], and will need one more "workshop" class that I'm planning for my last semester)... but it's the thesis that will be part of the beast for the coming year. Technically, I'm not "registering" for it until the fall semester, but I know that if I don't at least start working on it now, then by the time things come around to really start cranking things out (aka - when it's due), I'll be setting myself up for a bucket of extra fried stress - something I would prefer to avoid as much as possible.

Here's the thing, though... Most Creative Writing theses (thesi ?) end up being a collection of poems, short stories, etc. (depending on the specific concentration... being in "fiction", mine would likely lean towards short stories)... but I don't really want to do that... at least, not entirely. I want to put some mileage on a book, and use it as the major portion of the thesis. And here lies the issues: selecting a panel. The chair/advisor is a bit of a no-brainer for me: I've already hinted at asking the person before I actually got my acceptance, and he had said yes then, so it's a matter of making things official. From there, it gets sticky. I would need to get two other individuals (and up to one of them can be from outside the CW concentration). I have a couple of individuals in mind, but ultimately who I may ask (from outside the concentration) depends on what kind of text I create. Something playing fantasy & folklore, ask person A; Vampires? Ask person B. And then it's deciding who to ask that's in the CW program.

But the first step, before I worry about any sort of committee selection, is planning, plotting, and starting on the project... which is the most important part of the adventure...