Abstract Thoughts

I got up early this morning to go to an event, but it was rained out. So I've spent a few hours putting together a conference abstract. Why is such a simple process sometimes so time-consuming? In this case, I know it is because I am still shaping and reshaping the argument in this paper, but I wish that I didn't have the problem of finding the argument so often. I always have a topic/subject I want to discuss, but articulating the one scholarly argument that will "contribute" to the field frequently seems to allude me. I end up with pages and pages of descriptive prose and little to no analysis. (This is probably why I still haven't published anything four years and two jobs post-dissertation.)

So in my article drafts and upcoming conference works, I'm working really hard to keep my eye to the argument first before getting into the wonderful texts and people I love discussing.

This is hard work.