DESIGNING YOUR PLAN FOR WRITING When I ask students to discuss their feelings about writing,some posi- tive feelings usually come up,too.Students say things like: I feel excited when I think up a good idea....Sometimes I write a sentence that comes out more coherently than I expected and I feel great....I feel euphoric when I realize that I have a good conclu- sion that ties the paper together....I love the feeling of having just finished a paper....When I reread something I wrote a year ago, I'm impressed and I think,did I write that!? In order to feel better about your writing,then,remember the context in which positive feelings arose. For instance,do you have any particularly good memories of writing? During that experience when you felt good,what was making that hap- pen?What are the lessons you can learn from those experiences? Lessons to Be Learned from My Positive Experiences of Writing (You will spend time later in the chapter on how to use these lessons,but for now,just write them down.) When I ask this question in class,students list good experiences like: I had a deadline that forced me to sit down and do the writing.... I had an advisor/friend/spouse who was encouraging....I was working on a paper that meant a lot to me personally....My par- ents took my kids for a week....I got into a rhythm of writing every evening after Seinfeld....I had a part-time job that forced me to use my time more efficiently....I read an article that really inspired me and got me going....I asked my advisor to meet with me once a week and to expect some writing from me every time. Interestingly,the lessons students learn from these experiences are sim- ilar.Apparently,happy writers are all alike,to paraphrase Tolstoy.Success- ful academic writers share similar attitudes and work habits.I call them the keys to academic writing success
4 DESIGNING YOUR -IAI PLAN FOR WRITING l!J When I ask students to discuss their feelings about writing, some positive feelings usually come up, too. Students say things like: I feel excited when I think up a good idea .... Sometimes I write a sentence that comes out more coherently than I expected and I feel great. ... I feel euphoric when I realize that I have a good conclusion that ties the paper together .... I love the feeling of having just finished a paper .... When I reread something I wrote a year ago, I'm impressed and I think, did I write that!? In order to feel better about your writing, then, remember the context in which positive feelings arose. For instance, do you have any particularly good memories of writing? During that experience when you felt good, what was making that happen? What are the lessons you can learn from those experiences? Lessons to Be Learned from My Positive Experiences of Writing (You will spend time later in the chapter on how to use these lessons, but for now, just write them down.) When I ask this question in class, students list good experiences like: I had a deadline that forced me to sit down and do the writing .... I had an advisor I friend/ spouse who was encouraging .... I was working on a paper that meant a lot to me personally .... My parents took my kids for a week. ... I got into a rhythm of writing every evening after Seinfeld . ... I had a part-time job that forced me to use my time more efficiently .... I read an article that really inspired me and got me going .... I asked my advisor to meet with me once a week and to expect some writing from me every time. Interestingly, the lessons students learn from these experiences are similar. Apparently, happy writers are all alike, to paraphrase Tolstoy. Successful academic writers share similar attitudes and work habits. I call them the keys to academic writing success
WEEK 1: 5 INSTRUCTION KEYS TO POSITIVE WRITING EXPERIENCES I've designed this workbook to help you develop skills around the four keys to academic writing success.These essentials can also help you design your own program. Successful Academic Writers Write Samuel Eliot Morison,author of several academic classics including The Oxford History of the American People,had the following literary advice for young historians,"First and foremost,get writing!"(1953,293). It may sound tautological,but the main key to a positive writing experi- ence is writing.Most students'negative experiences of writing revolve around not writing (i.e.,procrastinating)and most students'positive experiences of writing revolve around actually doing it.That is,when students write,they feel a sense of accomplishment and the pleasure of communicating their ideas. In this sense,writing is the same as exercise.Although it may not be easy at first,it does get easier and more pleasurable the more you do it.As the very productive academic writer and my colleague Chon A.Noriega tells his grad- uate students when they embark on their dissertations,"One usually gets bet- ter at whatever one does on a regular basis.If one does not write on a regular basis,one will get better at not writing.In fact,one will develop an astonishing array of skills designed to improve and extend one's not writing." Those who do not write often claim that they are "too busy."Indeed, people today are very busy.Some students have long commutes,others have full-time jobs,and still others have young children.So,here's the good news and the bad news.Lots of busy people have been productive writers.Are they just smarter?No.If you pay attention to the way you actually spend time,you will find that you may not be quite as busy as you suppose and that writing doesn't take as much time as you fear. Robert Boice,the leading scholar on faculty productivity,proved this by finding faculty members who claimed to be "too busy"to write and then following them around for a week.With Boice staring at them all day, most had to admit that "they rarely had workdays without at least one brief period of fifteen to sixty minutes open for free use"(1997a,21).His subjects spent this free time in activities that were neither work nor play. Boice also found that those likely to describe themselves as very "busy"or very "stressed"did not produce as much as those who were writing steadily.In other words,you are not too busy to write,you are busy because you do not write.Busy-ness is what you do to explain your not writing.(If you skimmed over those last two sentences,I recommend you go back and read them one more time.It's essential.) No matter how busy your life is,make a plan for writing.Successful academic writers do not wait for inspiration.They do not wait until the last minute.They do not wait for big blocks of time.They make a plan for writing
KEYS TO POSITIVE WRITING EXPERIENCES I've designed this workbook to help you develop skills around the four keys to academic writing success. These essentials can also help you design your own program. Successful Academic Writers Write Samuel Eliot Morison, author of several academic classics including The Oxford History of the American People, had the following literary advice for young historians, "First and foremost, get writing!" (1953, 293). It may sound tautological, but the main key to a positive writing experience is writing. Most students' negative experiences of writing revolve around not writing (i.e., procrastinating) and most students' positive experiences of writing revolve around actually doing it. That is, when students write, they feel a sense of accomplishment and the pleasure of communicating their ideas. In this sense, writing is the same as exercise. Although it may not be easy at first, it does get easier and more pleasurable the more you do it. As the very productive academic writer and my colleague Chon A Noriega tells his graduate students when they embark on their dissertations, "One usually gets better at whatever one does on a regular basis. If one does not write on a regular basis, one will get better at not writing. In fact, one will develop an astonishing array of skills designed to improve and extend one's not writing." Those who do not write often claim that they are "too busy." Indeed, people today are very busy. Some students have long commutes, others have full-time jobs, and still others have young children. So, here's the good news and the bad news. Lots of busy people have been productive writers. Are they just smarter? No. If you pay attention to the way you actually spend time, you will find that you may not be quite as busy as you suppose and that writing doesn't take as much time as you fear. Robert Boice, the leading scholar on faculty productivity, proved this by finding faculty members who claimed to be "too busy" to write and then following them around for a week. With Boice staring at them all day, most had to admit that "they rarely had workdays without at least one brief period of fifteen to sixty minutes open for free use" (1997a, 21). His subjects spent this free time in activities that were neither work nor play. Boice also found that those likely to describe themselves as very "busy" or very "stressed" did not produce as much as those who were writing steadily. In other words, you are not too busy to write, you are busy because you do not write. Busy-ness is what you do to explain your not writing. (If you skimmed over those last two sentences, I recommend you go back and read them one more time. It's essential.) No ma~ter how busy your life is, make a plan for writing. Successful academic writers do not wait for inspiration. They do not wait until the last minute. They do not wait for big blocks of time. They make a plan for writing WEEK 1: 5 INSTRUCTION
6 DESIGNING YOUR PLAN FOR WRITING every day and they stick to it.Much of this workbook will be devoted to your developing writing into a habit. Successful Academic Writers Make Writing Social The myth that writing should be a solo activity is just that,a myth.Yet, the popular image persists of the writer as someone who works alone for months in a cold garret,subsisting on bread and cigarettes while coughing consumptively and churning out page after page of sui generis prose.It's a lonely,hard life,but that's what writing takes.2 Academics in the humanities persist in believing that texts spring fully formed from the mind of the writer.In the sciences,this myth is not so prevalent since most science articles are the result of a team of researchers who publish as coauthors.Students in the sciences work as secondary authors,contributing sections or data to faculty members'articles,long before they ever become primary authors.That is why the rate of writing dysfunction in the sciences is so much lower.Scholars in the sciences con- sistently see writing as a form of conversation.When this idea of collabora- tion is lost,many of the writing problems so common in the academic community arise-writer's block,anxiety over having one's ideas stolen, the obsession with originality,the fear of belatedness,difficulties with criti- cism,even plagiarism.All rise from the myth that writing should be private and isolated. Just look at the host of reviewers,friends,and family members thanked in any published book.This is not just civility on the part of the author; authors are usually understating the case.Those thanked may have per- formed research,suggested theses,recommended resources,and actually written conclusions.This was especially true in the past,when faculty wives not only typed and edited manuscripts,but also sometimes wrote sections of their husbands'texts.The recent legal suit against the Da Vinci Code for copyright infringement suggests that such wives are still around. According to Dan Brown,his wife Blythe Brown did most of the research for the Da Vinci Code,suggested the idea of centering a book on the sup- pression of women in the Catholic Church,and insisted that the book include a child of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene(Collett-White 2006). Because the myth of originality is so strong,authors rarely give these labor- ers coauthor credits.This variation on the repressive silence discussed at the beginning of this chapter is the result of not recognizing that writing is collaborative labor. A useful corrective to the myth of the solitary writer is the experience of Indonesian novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer,who was Southeast Asia's leading contender for the Nobel Prize.Toer spent fourteen years as a polit- ical prisoner on Indonesia's infamous Buru Island.Denied paper and pen, from 1969 to 1973,Pramoedya composed oral stories for the eighteen pris- oners in his isolated camp,who would whisper the latest installment to other prisoners during their only daily contact,in the showers.These sto- ries were so rich and human that many prisoners attributed their survival
6 DESIGNING YOUR -~ PLAN FOR WRITING .., every day and they stick to it. Much of this workbook will be devoted to your developing writing into a habit. Successful Academic Writers Make Writinl! Social The myth that writing should be a solo activity is just that, a myth. Yet, the popular image persists of the writer as someone who works alone for months in a cold garret, subsisting on bread and cigarettes while coughing consumptively and churning out page after page of sui generis prose. It's a lonely, hard life, but that's what writing takes.2 Academics in the humanities persist in believing that texts spring fully formed from the mind of the writer. In the sciences, this myth is not so prevalent since most science articles are the result of a team of researchers who publish as coauthors. Students in the sciences work as secondary authors, contributing sections or data to faculty members' articles, long before they ever become primary authors. That is why the rate of writing dysfunction in the sciences is so much lower. Scholars in the sciences consistently see writing as a form of conversation. When this idea of collaboration is lost, many of the writing problems so common in the academic community arise-writer's block, anxiety over having one's ideas stolen, the obsession with originality, the fear of belatedness, difficulties with criticism, even plagiarism. All rise from the myth that writing should be private and isolated. Just look at the host of reviewers, friends, and family members thanked in any published book. This is not just civility on the part of the author; authors are usually understating the case. Those thanked may have performed research, suggested theses, recommended resources, and actually written conclusions. This was especially true in the past, when faculty wives not only typed and edited manuscripts, but also sometimes wrote sections of their husbands' texts. The recent legal suit against the Da Vinci Code for copyright infringement suggests that such wives are still around. According to Dan Brown, his wife Blythe Brown did most of the research for the Da Vinci Code, suggested the idea of centering a book on the suppression of women in the Catholic Church, and insisted that the book include a child of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene (Collett-White 2006). Because the myth of originality is so strong, authors rarely give these laborers coauthor credits. This variation on the repressive silence discussed at the beginning of this chapter is the result of not recognizing that writing is collaborative labor. A useful corrective to the myth of the solitary writer is the experience of Indonesian novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who was Southeast Asia's leading contender for the Nobel Prize. Toer spent fourteen years as a political prisoner on Indonesia's infamous Buru Island. Denied paper and pen, from 1969to1973, Pramoedya composed oral stories for the eighteen prisoners in his isolated camp, who would whisper the latest installment to other prisoners during their only daily contact, in the showers. These stories were so rich and human that many prisoners attributed their survival
1 WEEK 1: 7 INSTRUCTION to them.Pramoedya himself has called the Buru novels"my lullaby for my fellow-prisoners,to calm their fears,they who were suffering so much tor- ture"(Belcher 1999).The prisoners,in turn,did his work and gave him their food to enable his creation.When his captors finally allowed him to write in 1975,"it was like a dam breaking."Toer wrote continuously to cap- ture the stories from memory,sitting on the floor and writing on his prison cot.Only four of these books were smuggled out;six others were destroyed by prison guards.The first,This Earth of Mankind,is one of the best novels of colonialism ever written in English.The quartet of which it is a part is a defining work of this century.Is Toer's story unusual?Yes.But his experi- ence of writing highlights a persistent truth:The best writing is created in community with a strong sense of audience. So,work to make your writing more public and less private,more social and less solitary.Start a writing group.Take a writing class.Con- vince another student to cowrite an article with you.Meet a classmate at the library or a cafe to write for an hour.Attend conferences,participate in electronic discussion lists,join journal clubs,and introduce yourself to scholars whose work you admire.Do not get distracted into reading yet another article when a conversation with someone in your field can better help you to shape your ideas and direction.You should be spending as much time on establishing social scholarly connections as you do on writ- ing,for the best writing happens in active interaction with your potential audience. The more you participate,the better your experience of writing will be. This is partly because others give you ideas and language.But it is also because you must relate your ideas to others'ideas.You must know what theories professors in your discipline are debating,what their primary research questions are,and what methodologies they consider appropri- ate.You can only know this if you are an active member of the community. Students usually experience several problems with making their writ- ing more social.First,many students feel real horror at the prospect of net- working.Some feel awkward or invasive attempting to contact someone they admire.Others experience deliberate attempts at befriending others as superficial or brown-nosing.Certainly,reaching out socially takes courage and tact.Yet,you will find that others are often interested in meet- ing you and even grateful to you for taking the first step.Many established scholars enjoy being asked for advice on the field.So,whatever your com- fort zone,try to push outside it. Second,many students are hesitant about showing their writing to anyone.The university environment can encourage students to see their colleagues as adversaries rather than advocates.Classmates and professors can appear too busy to read and comment on your work.Students can be afraid that sharing their work will reveal them as impostors and demon- strate their deep unsuitability for the academy.Fortunately,if you manage to share your work,you usually find that others are happy to help and that you are not as much of an idiot as you thought you were.Moreover,others can quickly identify omissions and logical breaks that would take you
to them. Pramoedya himself has called the Buru novels "my lullaby for my fellow-prisoners, to calm their fears, they who were suffering so much torture" (Belcher 1999). The prisoners, in turn, did his work and gave him their food to enable his creation. When his captors finally allowed him to write in 1975, "it was like a dam breaking." Toer wrote continuously to capture the stories from memory, sitting on the floor and writing on his prison cot. Only four of these books were smuggled out; six others were destroyed by prison guards. The first, This Earth of Mankind, is one of the best novels of colonialism ever written in English. The quartet of which it is a part is a defining work of this century. Is Toer's story unusual? Yes. But his experience of writing highlights a persistent truth: The best writing is created in community with a strong sense of audience. So, work to make your writing more public and less private, more social and less solitary. Start a writing group. Take a writing class. Convince another student to cowrite an article with you. Meet a classmate at the library or a cafe to write for an hour. Attend conferences, participate in electronic discussion lists, join journal clubs, and introduce yourself to scholars whose work you admire. Do not get distracted into reading yet another article when a conversation with someone in your field can better help you to shape your ideas and direction. You should be spending as much time on establishing social scholarly connections as you do on writing, for the best writing happens in active interaction with your potential audience. The more you participate, the better your experience of writing will be. This is partly because others give you ideas and language. But it is also because you must relate your ideas to others' ideas. You must know what theories professors in your discipline are debating, what their primary research questions are, and what methodologies they consider appropriate. You can only know this if you are an active member of the community. Students usually experience several problems with making their writing more social. First, many students feel real horror at the prospect of networking. Some feel awkward or invasive attempting to contact someone they admire. Others experience deliberate attempts at befriending others as superficial or brown-nosing. Certainly, reaching out socially takes courage and tact. Yet, you will find that others are often interested in meeting you and even grateful to you for taking the first step. Many established scholars enjoy being asked for advice on the field. So, whatever your comfort zone, try to push outside it. Second, many students are hesitant about showing their writing to anyone. The university environment can encourage students to see their colleagues as adversaries rather than advocates. Classmates and professors can appear too busy to read and comment on your work. Students can be afraid that sharing their work will reveal them as impostors and demonstrate their deep unsuitability for the academy. Fortunately, if you manage to share your work, you usually find that others are happy to help and that you are not as much of an idiot as you thought you were. Moreover, others can quickly identify omissions and logical breaks that would take you WEEK 1: 7 INSTRUCTION
8 DESIGNING YOUR· PLAN FOR WRITING weeks to figure out.Of course,some readers will be too critical and others will give you bad advice.But an essential part of becoming a writer is learning to sift useful criticisms from useless ones.The more often you deal with others'subjective reactions to your work,the more readily you will be able to deal with peer reviewers'comments down the road. Third,some students are good at sharing their work,but only when they consider the article complete.Avoid waiting until your manuscript is "done"before sharing it.You will be disappointed when you share it with others,expecting compliments.Instead,you will get recommendations for revision that you are little interested in addressing.The point of sharing is to improve your writing,not to convince others of your talents.So,share your writing in the early stages.Show outlines to classmates,faculty mem- bers in your discipline,or even journal editors.Exchange abstracts.Give out drafts and ask for specific comments about aspects of your writing that you suspect are weak.Learn to share your writing at all stages. Fourth,students fear that sharing their work will lead to their ideas being stolen.Like so many of the anxieties named in this book,there is a rational reason for this fear:students'ideas are stolen.Stories are always circulating among graduate students about stolen intellectual property. But hiding your work will not solve this problem.In fact,getting your work out to a number of people will protect it.Furthermore,no one can articulate your idea like you can.You may suspect that anyone could do a better job of presenting your ideas than you could,but this workbook will help you see that's not true. All these activities will help you counter the myth of the lonely writer. Nothing is as collaborative as good writing.All texts depend on other texts, all writers stand on the shoulders of other writers,all prose demands an editor,and all writing needs an audience.Without community,writing is inconceivable.This workbook will help you to develop social writing habits and to share your work.If you are using this workbook with a writ- ing partner or in a group,you are making excellent progress already! Successful Academic Writers Persist Despite Rejection The writing life is filled with rejection.This is one of the few shared experiences of great writers and terrible writers.A quick read of Pushcart's Complete Rotten Reviews Rejections offers the comfort of knowing that most canonical authors (for instance,Hermann Melville,T.S.Eliot,and Virginia Woolf)had their work rejected in the strongest possible terms (Henderson 1998).Jack London received 266 rejection slips in 1899 alone (Kershaw 1997)!The economist George Akerlof received three rejections for a journal article that later won him the Nobel Prize(Gans and Shepherd 1994).Indeed,studies of Nobel Prize winners found that editors had rejected many early versions of their award-winning work(Campanario 1995,1996).If you write,you will be rejected.This is unavoidable.The important thing is not to let it stop you
8 DESIGNING YOUR -,_, PLAN FOR WRITING Ill weeks to figure out. Of course, some readers will be too critical and others will give you bad advice. But an essential part of becoming a writer is learning to sift useful criticisms from useless ones. The more often you deal with others' subjective reactions to your work, the more readily you will be able to deal with peer reviewers' comments down the road. Third, some students are good at sharing their work, but only when they consider the article complete. Avoid waiting until your manuscript is "done" before sharing it. You will be disappointed when you share it with others, expecting compliments. Instead, you will get recommendations for revision that you are little interested in addressing. The point of sharing is to improve your writing, not to convince others of your talents. So, share your writing in the early stages. Show outlines to classmates, faculty members in your discipline, or even journal editors. Exchange abstracts. Give out drafts and ask for specific comments about aspects of your writing that you suspect are weak. Learn to share your writing at all stages. Fourth, students fear that sharing their work will lead to their ideas being stolen. Like so many of the anxieties named in this book, there is a rational reason for this fear: students' ideas are stolen. Stories are always circulating among graduate students about stolen intellectual property. But hiding your work will not solve this problem. In fact, getting your work out to a number of people will protect it. Furthermore, no one can articulate your idea like you can. You may suspect that anyone could do a better job of presenting your ideas than you could, but this workbook will help you see that's not true. All these activities will help you counter the myth of the lonely writer. Nothing is as collaborative as good writing. All texts depend on other texts, all writers stand on the shoulders of other writers, all prose demands an editor, and all writing needs an audience. Without community, writing is inconceivable. This workbook will help you to develop social writing habits and to share your work. If you are using this workbook with a writing partner or in a group, you are making excellent progress already! Successful Academic Writers Persist Despite Rejection The writing life is filled with rejection. This is one of the few shared experiences of great writers and terrible writers. A quick read of Pushcart's Complete Rotten Reviews & Rejections offers the comfort of knowing that most canonical authors (for instance, Hermann Melville, T. S. Eliot, and Virginia Woolf) had their work rejected in the strongest possible terms (Henderson 1998). Jack London received 266 rejection slips in 1899 alone (Kershaw 1997)! The economist George Akerlof received three rejections for a journal article that later won him the Nobel Prize (Gans and Shepherd 1994). Indeed, studies of Nobel Prize winners found that editors had rejected many early versions of their award-winning work (Campanario 1995, 1996). If you write, you will be rejected. This is unavoidable. The important thing is not to let it stop you