I couldn't fathom researching an English topic. That just sounded boring to me. But the option of communication seemed wide open and offered more opportunities. I told some friends of mine that I was going to complete my communication research project as a senior, and that I was going to write about It's a Wonderful Life.
Add a year and a half of interceding college effort, drama, and hijinks, my senior year finally came around....and I forgot the plan. So I spent a week or two writing up notes about how I was going to compare print journalism reporting of the Civil War to coverage of the Gulf War. I was only half-feeling it and kind of dreading the project.
Part of the requirement was to present your proposal in front of the class. As I sat in the classroom that night waiting for the professor to arrive, we were sharing our topics in broad terms. I told about my news reporting idea, and one of my friends, Jay, spoke up: "I thought you were going to do this about It's a Wonderful Life."
I was shell-shocked. How could I have forgotten????!!!!! I uttered a short, vulgar phrase that shows surprise and the realization that I wasn't prepared to present on that. I thanked him profusely, turned around in my seat, grabbed a piece of paper and proceeded to ignore the first two or three presenters and I madly brainstormed and framed out my idea.
I present to you, that page:
I got up in front of the class that night, presented this as if I had planned it all along, and got some excited and encouraging feedback from my professor. I took that back to my dorm, started the film on my VCR (this was before DVD, let alone Blu-Ray), and wrote the full abstract, dated March 3, 1997:
This paper has gone through many versions, including the 46-page college paper that I turned in for a grade, a hastily-written book version that wasn't much more than a slightly expanded version of the college paper. I recently finished my 7th draft of a greatly-expanded, carefully-considered 250 (or so) page book. It has been declined by one publishing house with promising feedback about how it didn't quite fit their publishing vision, but was well-written, and a book proposal is currently with another publishing house under review and consideration.
And even though the book is complete, it's so tempting to go back and re-write it an eighth time. I have made a habit of it for the last 18 years. Old habits are hard to break, not to mention how much fun I have doing it!
