We all have our strengths as scholars — I’ve often been told that I am a good writer. This does not mean that I am a good creative writer (as these blog posts may attest to) but that I am good at writing in the academic style (which probably means that I am, in fact, a bad writer). My weaknesses have always been that I hang on to things too long and that my work style consists of a few days of binge writing, followed by a long hiatus.
Until recently, I had never really tied my writing style to my work ethic. The weakest rationalization: since I am such a good writer and drafts take me half as long as other mere mortals, I can justify wasting a day watching Project Runway reruns. There is some truth to this — one of my best papers came to me while watching a movie, which led to a dissertation that has been well received. Still, I’ve been concerned that I didn’t produce enough during my first semester free of teaching — I’m now looking at two new course preps and only got out one of the three papers I had planned on (but those others are just one binge writing session away!).
In a sincere effort to get myself back on track, instead of actually finishing the papers, I started a blog** and ordered a bunch of books on adjusting to one’s first job on the tenure-track. My favorite is “How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing.” I also liked Robert Boice’s “The New Faculty Member.” The main problem with these books is that they have convinced me that I am screwed. Bottom line, binge writers don’t get tenure. They actually produce less than those who write in small, consistent sessions. And, my favorite rationalizations, that I’m ‘just not ready’ to write yet or that I need a big block of time to write are totally wrong, bad for my career, and continued use of them will end badly.
So, I will now write a little every weekday, track my output, and write no matter what mood I am in (apparently I am supposed to track this in excel, spss, or stata). In an effort to keep myself honest, Mom, I’ll post my output here each week.
*A term from the Boice book. Quick starters are the 5-9% of new faculty who do enough in their first 2-3 years to meet the T&P requirements of their university.
**Apparently, a blog is a great way to learn to write in small, short bursts. We’ll see.
Wow, it’s like you’re me, except years farther along in the academic career trajectory.
I bought “How to Write a Lot” a few months ago, and the Boice is presently sitting on one of my bookshelves, waiting to be read (years before it’ll be relevant to me, but what can I say, I’m compulsive about preparation for the future). Binge writing dies hard, especially if you’re a good enough academic writer that you don’t get whacked for it. I’m interested to see how transitioning to the a-little-every-day approach goes for you, since I need to kick my ass and do it eventually, too.
I’m not sure I’m you — I clearly should have been reading some of these books while in graduate school! Curing the binge writing problem then rather than now would have been good, so best of luck to you.
I’ll post tomorrow on how it’s going — suffice to say, definitely mixed…
[...] of *trying* to write in small, consistent, daily sessions, here is my initial report (as promised here). I’ve presented graphs, as Paul Silvia suggests in his book on productive academic writing, [...]