Past the Roadblocks and onto the Freeway!

This Monday marked a crucial moment for me. I ended months of pre-writing and finally began writing a draft of the introduction to my book. Thus set into motion, the process will carry me. I feel great. And I am confident that I will get a draft of my manuscript to my editor by October 31, 2015.

Getting down to writing the book has proven challenging. On long academic pieces, I work slowly, a victim of my perfectionism. I struggle to get past the burdensome sense that I am not yet prepared to begin tackling the issues. I fear that I don’t know enough, that I haven’t yet read or reread the important materials. I worry that I haven’t kept up with the literature enough to be ready for any fellow historians who might blindside me. “Is this guy Rubin an idiot? Doesn’t he know that his stupid argument has been repeatedly been debunked? Why has he conducted such an obsolete study? Why did he bother writing such a book?”

I then drag out and apply my trusty old wherewithal, and I remember that such responses are unlikely. And, if anyone should respond in that manner, then I need not care a whit. Every book has its critics—lots. I should be delighted if enough people read the book to bother eviscerating it. What could be more fun than to join the historiographical fray, the give and take among smart, excited scholars?

Above all, I remind myself what I’ve been telling students for years. Writing is not the end result of the thinking process; writing is the thinking process. A horrible draft of my introduction would be a gift to myself, as it would enable me to get my ideas out, rearrange them, add and subtract, and generate a strong product. Now is the time to write badly! Now is the moment to heave up stones of thought, so that I might chisel them into what my mind’s eye already sees clearly.