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Showing posts from February, 2013

My Thesis - what's it about?

I am always thrilled to be contacted by those who by chance find my blog. I have been blogging for three years and am hoping to complete my first draft by the end of the year. I thought it timely to re-publish what has already been published. The following is from my presentation at the University of Kassel, Germany. In 1904 Olga Ernst, a pupil teacher, wrote Fairy Tales from the Land of the Wattle. Although she was just sixteen years old, Ernst was one of a small group of writers in Australia who attempted to nationalise the fairytale towards the end of the nineteenth century, signalling quite clearly that they intended to affix the elves and fairies of Europe onto the Australian landscape aiming to fill a void that was keenly felt by the children of emigrants and the Australian-born children of emigrants. (Walker, 1988) The beginnings of the Australian bush fantasy genre can be linked with the desire to bring the comfortable and familiar into the new and distinctly non

Thesis Bootcamp - drop and give me... 20000 words

It's more than likely Olga used these stairs. I applied for this UniMelb program to overcome my thesis fatigue having written a chapter every two months for the last year while working full time. Advertised as a 'no-excuses, no-time-for-procrastination, take-no-prisoners intensive writing weekend', achieving my Holy Grail of 5000 words in a weekend appealed. I was keen to show those staff members who completed the Tough Mudder challenge last week and bounced into work wearing their TM t-shirts that I could undertake something equally gruelling but cleaner! I was after the coveted mug to fill with plunger coffee and place strategically next to those-who-should-be-impressed in the staffroom. My Trophy Green = 5000 words Blue = 10000 words Red = 15000 words It was a gift! To be able to simply write..write...write and wander into the lunch room for any kind of snack whenever: breakie bars, cereal, yoghurt, vego delights, scones.    No internet access  - challeng