So I thought I had it somewhat figured. Obviously not totally since I'm still exploring the elephant before I eat it, one bite at a time. But I thought I had a plan, a good plan. The road was set, I was going along.

Then I took a shower. And maybe it was just the water and it would have happened in the pool, but another idea took hold in my head. And I'm thinking it'd be a really fun and interesting project.

The evolution of mystery novels (in French language of course.)

This would span over several centuries, but it might be easier to narrow down the course work as there would be some major authors who wrote such books. George Simenon had a good run in the 20th century. And his character was turned into a TV show.

Who would have been the master of mysteries in the 18th century? 19th? How far back could the genre be traced? Wouldn't the format have been much different? And wouldn't that be a reflection of the (then) current culture?

It could be really interesting. So what to do? Trudge on the road I already started on, to the destination I set for? Come to a complete halt and start looking at mysteries (I imagine they'll be more fun to read than the weird stuff I'm reading now)? Or kind of look at both at the same time?

What makes someone special enough to earn a PhD? Is it really that hard? After all, to earn a Master's degree in French literature, one writes many long papers on various subjects, so wouldn't a doctorate be a similar process. Well, except for that dissertation bit, but if one can write, it's just a much longer paper.

Or is it? First one must find a subject.

Ok, check. I'm interested in multi culturism in Francophone writers, and how their own multi-culturality transpires in their writings. If they grew up in one country, but now live in another one, surely a bit of both cultures shows up, right? What about if their parents come from different countries, it affects a child, doesn't it?

That wasn't too hard. An interesting (to me) subject, now I just have to read and see what I find. Oh, yeah, I forgot. Is there a difference between the women and the men? One should be affected more than the other, I would think, maybe?

Now what? Oh, right. Reading. Where do I start? How do I know what francophone author has a "mixed culture"?

Some authors are recommended, so I start there. Then I look through a few books about francophone literature, and find more authors. I read some more. Good books, interesting books, weird books, bad books, depressing books. 

But wait! Just because they are writing in French, and they are from a country other than France, doesn't make them relevant to my study. A Canadian author is just that, Canadian! Unless he, or she, has some other cultural tie to another culture, he's not who I'm looking for. How many books did I read before I realized that? About 4, or 5, or 6.

So, back to square one. Actually back to square two. The list of francophone authors is important. I just have to take the time and research each of the author's background. Multi culture? Yes, I want to read your stuff. Only one culture? Sorry, I enjoyed your books but you don't matter to me, for right now.

So another list is drafted. Check with the library to see what is available for a starting point.

At some point I need to also do some research on what has been written on those authors. Has anybody else looked at the multiculture in francophone writers? How am I ever going to find all of this?

Panic is setting in. Do I have it in me? Can I actually do this? Deep breath. In. Out.

How do you eat an elephant? (What a bad image! The elephant is our mascot. Ok, just a detail) One step at a time. And right now I'm just charming the elephant, trying to decide if I want to eat it. No. I know that I want to eat it. I'm trying to decide how I want to eat it. What is the first bite I want to take, that's what I'm trying to figure out. And I need to chill on worrying about the seasoning and how I want to cook it. First, what part to eat? So I need to keep on examining the different parts of the elephant.

So back to reading I go!