Academic Name Dropper

So, maybe I like to procrastinate.  Who doesn't?  It is just so much easier to go all Scarlett O'Hara on the situation and just "think about it tomorrow" because "tomorrow is another day."

  I also don't like going hungry, but I digress. 

During my procrastination period a lot of house chores get done as does a lot of television watching. Over the 19 years that I have been in school I have discovered that when it comes to writing research papers I procrastinate because I can't figure out how to get past the theory hump.  I actually really enjoy the practice of discussing a performance phenomena and explaining that phenomena with complicated theoretical conversations. I think it would be hard to be a PhD. student if I didn't like writing. 

Usually, as long as I have a title and an anecdote I can get started writing and when I follow the method taught to me by my mentor the writing comes pretty easily.  Oh? What is the fail proof method of research paper writing you ask?  Well it is fairly simple: "lay it down and walk it through." In the opening paragraphs of your paper you lay down what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. Then in the remaining pages you walk through what you laid out in the first few paragraphs.  There is also a cool paragraph writing system called the MEAL plan which I can discuss at length later.

The place in my writing that I always get hung up on is how to get over the theory hump after laying it down. I can say that I am going to use Taylor, Roach etc. to explain x,y, and z but then figuring out how to write that initial "Following from Roach, surrogation is blah blah blah" sentence is quite difficult for me.   I am constantly striving to integrate those moments of theory better into my writing. I think some of the best writing is when theory is incorporated into the writing without drawing attention to it. I also feel a little bit like an academic name dropper when I blatantly incorporate other scholars theoretical concepts in my work.  On the other hand, I feel that at this point in my academic career, that kind of obvious name dropping is expected and encouraged. It shows other more weathered scholars that yes, in fact I do know what and who I am talking about (at least that is what my professors tell me). 

Once I get past the hump, I am usually in good shape. So today, I decided it was about time that I got past my theory hump and write some of the vintage dance paper that is due on Friday.  I accomplished my goal and then some.  My next goal in improving my writing is figuring out how to not only incorporate multiple theoretical ideas into one paper but to braid them together in a discussion with my performance case study.  I think I am going to try and attempt a little of that with this current paper so wish me luck.  

What about you guys? Do you have any writing habits that are hard to break or any suggestions of how you can better introduce theory into your papers?