Friday, November 03, 2017

Write every day?

Like many of my colleagues, I often think about the best ways to be productive in research and writing. A few years ago, I read Robert Boice's book, "Advice for New Faculty Members," and it made a big impact on me. Boice believes you should write every day to be productive. Yet, this seems impossible during busy times of the semester. Today I read an article by Helen Sword, titled "'Write every day!': a mantra dismantled."

From the article:

"Instead of lecturing academics on the 'right way to write,' I offer them a menu of choices, a smorgasbord of possibilities: feasts rather than binges, nourishing diets rather than punishing purges. ... I suggest strategies for explicitly linking productivity with craftsmanship, people, and pleasure: for example, by reading books and attending workshops or courses that will make them feel more confident in their writing style; by forming collaborative relationships premised on emotional support rather than on disciplinary sanctions; and by seeking out writing venues filled with light and air" (Sword, 2016, p. 320-321).

I am putting Sword's book, "Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write" on my reading list!

References:
Boice, R. (2000). Advice for New Faculty Members. Pearson.
Sword, H. (2016). "Write every day!": a mantra dismantled. International Journal for Academic Development, pp. 312-322.
Sword, H. (2017). Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write. Harvard University Press.



3 comments:

online dissertation writing service said...

writing has been such a buddy to me that is why i dont seem to go with my day with out it. thank you for this post, it has made me understand a few things.

Unknown said...

Thank you for inspirational words! My children suffer very much at school because they do not get pleasure from writing. The only help for them is https://www.assignmentexpert.com/do-my-assignment . That all is because of teachers who create psychological pressure, which do not let children enjoy writing. What do you suggest doing in this situation?

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