You know, I honestly hadn't thought of it from an academic perspective, but that might be because I'm still sore about not getting into a doctorate program.
I've done some academic work myself and I understand the pressure of having something new and finding that angle that was never done before. I think that was the most stressful part of my graduate career so far - all of my classes were fashioned with this mind set to help train us towards higher disseration research graduate work. So every class we had to come up with topics that would have a new angle. My research thesis had to have a new angle. My women studies research needed an entirely new angle and it drove me mad. I recall ranting about it quite often on my LJ at the time.
It's true of any writer, I suppose, but with different variations. Reporters/journalists need a new angle on news and stories. Fiction writers need to make old themes seem new and fresh. Fanfic writers often worry about cliches in fanon. Acamdeic writers need to make sure their research is adding something new and valuable to the field, especially since it reflects on them and the university.
I'm starting to realize that the beauty of creativity is often in the "missed opportunities." if you think about it, this is where research is born. You read an article and you feel that the author missed an aspect on Mayan life, for example. Then you read another and another and find they are all missing this angle. Why? What is missing? And then suddenly you have a topic. Fiction is no different. You find something lacking in a story and start thinking about it and suddenly your idea has morphed into its own thing.
And that feeling of seeing an idea blossom, no matter the medium, really is one of the best feelings there is.
no subject
I've done some academic work myself and I understand the pressure of having something new and finding that angle that was never done before. I think that was the most stressful part of my graduate career so far - all of my classes were fashioned with this mind set to help train us towards higher disseration research graduate work. So every class we had to come up with topics that would have a new angle. My research thesis had to have a new angle. My women studies research needed an entirely new angle and it drove me mad. I recall ranting about it quite often on my LJ at the time.
It's true of any writer, I suppose, but with different variations. Reporters/journalists need a new angle on news and stories. Fiction writers need to make old themes seem new and fresh. Fanfic writers often worry about cliches in fanon. Acamdeic writers need to make sure their research is adding something new and valuable to the field, especially since it reflects on them and the university.
I'm starting to realize that the beauty of creativity is often in the "missed opportunities." if you think about it, this is where research is born. You read an article and you feel that the author missed an aspect on Mayan life, for example. Then you read another and another and find they are all missing this angle. Why? What is missing? And then suddenly you have a topic. Fiction is no different. You find something lacking in a story and start thinking about it and suddenly your idea has morphed into its own thing.
And that feeling of seeing an idea blossom, no matter the medium, really is one of the best feelings there is.