Track My Order
Help Centre
1300 187 187
Likes
My Wish ListsLogin / Join
Booktopia
Australia's local bookstore
The Clockwork Muse : A Practical Guide to Writing Theses, Dissertations, and Books - Eviatar Zerubavel

The Clockwork Muse

A Practical Guide to Writing Theses, Dissertations, and Books

By: Eviatar Zerubavel

Paperback | 15 March 1999 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback

RRP $43.95

$36.75

16%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $9.19 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 7 to 10 business days

For anyone who has blanched at the uphill prospect of finishing a long piece of writing, this book holds out something more practical than hope: it offers a plan. The Clockwork Muse is designed to help prospective authors develop a workable timetable for completing long and often formidable projects.

The idea of dashing off a manuscript in a fit of manic inspiration may be romantic, but it is not particularly practical. Instead, Eviatar Zerubavel, a prolific and successful author, describes how to set up a writing schedule and regular work habits that will take most of the anxiety and procrastination out of long-term writing, and even make it enjoyable. The dreaded 'writer's block' often turns out to be simply a need for a better grasp of the temporal organization of work.

The Clockwork Muse rethinks the writing process in terms of time and organization. It offers writers a simple yet comprehensive framework that considers such variables as when to write, for how long, and how often, while keeping a sense of momentum throughout the entire project. It shows how to set priorities, balance ideals against constraints, and find the ideal time to write. For all those whose writing has languished, waiting for the "right moment," The Clockwork Muse announces that the moment has arrived.

Industry Reviews
Eviatar Zerubavel takes issue with books on research and writing that imply that checklists and synopses of resources and literary texts are all the equipment a writer requires to start a research project. In The Clockwork Muse, he assumes that writer's block is natural, pervasive, and tends to prevail regardless of an individual's ability, ideas, and resources. He argues, therefore, that any writer's first task is to insure himself against this paralyzing condition by commanding the 'procedural', not the 'material', aspects of producing a manuscript. The basis of his philosophy is 'temporal organization': self-disciplined planning--'methodicalness and routinisation'--result in manuscripts written well and on time. -- Gregory LeStage Times Higher Education Supplement Zerubavel understands that the writing mind is inherently perfectionist and that writing is a strangely and dangerously self-engrossing process. His advice ranges from simple time-management schemes--so simple yet so hard to observe--to important tips about how to exploit the computer. The computer, however comfy for those wild writings beloved by the Camerons among us, is essentially an editing tool: a tool of self-criticism. Zerubavel emphasizes that the writing life is actually a life of self-editing, of revision. That is why it is hard; that is why it is exciting. Not just for academics, The Clockwork Muse belongs on every real writer's desk. -- Tom D'Evelyn Providence Sunday Journal

You Can Find This Book In

Non-FictionLanguage & LinguisticsReference, Dictionaries & GuidesCreative Writing & Creative Writing GuidesWriting & Editing GuidesFictionModern & Contemporary FictionLiterature, Poetry & PlaysHistory & Criticism of LiteratureReference, Information & Interdisciplinary SubjectsEncyclopaedias & Reference Works

More in Encyclopaedias & Reference Works

Collins World Atlas : Paperback Edition [13th Edition] - Collins Maps

Collins World Atlas

Paperback Edition [13th Edition]

Paperback

RRP $14.99

$11.90

21%
OFF
Collins World Atlas : Reference Edition [Fifth Edition] - Collins Maps

Collins World Atlas

Reference Edition [Fifth Edition]

Hardcover

RRP $42.99

$28.75

33%
OFF
Collins World Atlas : Complete Edition: 4th Edition - Collins Maps

Collins World Atlas

Complete Edition: 4th Edition

Hardcover

RRP $69.99

$47.25

32%
OFF
Junior Atlas of Indigenous Australia - Macquarie Dictionary

Junior Atlas of Indigenous Australia

Paperback

RRP $39.99

$27.80

30%
OFF
Where to Go When : 2nd Edition - Lonely Planet

Where to Go When

2nd Edition

Hardcover

RRP $39.99

$28.75

28%
OFF
Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia : 2nd Edition - Bill Arthur

Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia

2nd Edition

Hardcover

RRP $79.99

$54.75

32%
OFF
Collins World Wall Laminated Map - Collins Maps

Collins World Wall Laminated Map

Sheet Map

RRP $28.99

$27.25

Wild Food Plants of Australia - Tim Low

Wild Food Plants of Australia

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$31.75

The Dangerous Book for Boys - Conn Iggulden

The Dangerous Book for Boys

Hardcover

RRP $45.00

$37.25

17%
OFF
Swainston's Fishes of Australia : The complete illustrated guide - Roger Swainston

Swainston's Fishes of Australia

The complete illustrated guide

Paperback

RRP $80.00

$53.35

33%
OFF
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - John Koenig

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Hardcover

RRP $39.99

$32.25

19%
OFF

This product is categorised by

Popular Searches