There is a lot of contradictory advice out there about writing a dissertation. Some people say write every day until a certain word count is reached, or until a set amount of time has passed. Some people say they work best when they write everything all at once, usually looking down the barrel at a looming deadline. In this article, the author sorts through all the contradictory advice out there on writing. She concludes that, although the advice will not necessarily help someone write a brilliant dissertation, it will help one write an entire first draft... and it is much easier to edit a "terrible" dissertation than it is to edit a nonexistent perfect one.