Tuesday, April 21, 2009

It's interesting how Daniel's and my careers have followed similar paths while we've lived in Seattle. We were both published for the first time in the summer of '05. And, this spring, while he's been finishing up the research for his dissertation and applying for postdocs and jobs, I finally finished up the editing on my first novel and have started looking for an agent. We've been aware of the similarities between our jobs for a while -- they're both creative and amorphous. However, there's a substantial difference between having an advisor and working completely alone. I've had a great deal more control over my work than Daniel has had over his. There were many times when I would have traded that for a little guidance, but, in the long run, I think the lack of guidance may have caused me to build a stronger individual vision for my work than I would have otherwise.

At any rate, I now have a novel making the rounds. If only I could find a little more time to work on the second one...

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