Category: Writing
Writing generates writing
Writing generates writing. Even if most of the early drafts end up getting deleted, you probably needed to write them to stimulate the thinking that was necessary to get to the final version.
Writing consists of lots of related tasks
I don’t always have the mental energy to write, so I try to have a list of writing-related tasks that I can work on instead. I can also read and annotate related sources, edit existing writing, find suitable journals, or brainstorm ideas for other projects. ‘Writing’ doesn’t have to mean ‘writing’.
The first draft is the hardest
Getting the first version of your writing out of your head and onto the page is difficult. Writing the first draft of anything is the most difficult part, and in my experience it’s because our expectations of the first draft are too high; we want the first draft to be ‘good’. The way to do…
The clarification of meaning
Each sentence, each line, each clause, each phrase, each word, each mark of punctuation, each section of white space between the type has to contribute to the clarification of meaning. Donald Murray
The perfection of a blank page
Anything you do can be fixed but you can’t fix the perfection of a blank page. Neil Gaiman
Writing by hand
When you write by hand your ideas spend more time in your short-term memory (because it takes longer to put the words onto the page). You may end up with a better first draft as a result.
Write a bad first draft
You can edit some text but you can’t edit no text. Which means there’s a good reason to write a bad first draft; you can improve on it. Don’t wait until you’re ready to write a good first draft. Write a really bad first draft.
Acknowledge your non-writing time
You should acknowledge your non-writing time as well as your writing time. You may feel like you should be writing more, but when you block out all the time when you literally can’t write (i.e. during meetings, teaching, and so on), it can help to set more realistic writing goals.
Write every day
Once you commit to writing every day, the question shifts from, “Will I write tomorrow,” to, “What will I write about tomorrow?”
Ask for critical feedback on what isn’t working
Send early drafts of your work to critical friends who have your best interests at heart. While you should ask them what’s wrong with the text (e.g. where were they bored, confused, and so on), don’t ask them how to fix it. That’s in your gift.
The key to writing regularly is to write small but often
Writing small but often increases your ability to regularly produce academic output because the barrier to getting started is so low.
Schedule your writing time
Start your day by scheduling your writing time so that you make progress on the important, high-value work that is cognitively demanding.