GSE Writing Retreat notes
I am supposed to give a 10-15 minute talk at the beginning of the writing retreat on writing… I just can’t imagine what might be useful in the abstract. A few quickies:
- Two modes of writing:
- Writing as thinking: Time spent crafting words and sentences is an investment in the ideas.
- Writing as communicating thinking: Outlining saves you from wasting time crafting language you won’t end up using.
- Let go of sunk costs.
- Life is long; everything you cut will come back somewhere, some way.
- If you didn’t get any writing done during your writing time, move on.
- Use your body and your voice. Go for long walks, dictate to yourself, auto-transcribe the audio.
- Pay attention to genre. Find a mentor text.
- Write the acknowledgements at a time when you need a boost.
Ways to get stuck:
- Perfectionism and procrastination as symptoms of anxiety
- There’s something wrong with the research
- Time fragmentation, urgent vs. important