What is your process? How to get your creative juices flowing…and keep them flowing? This week’s Writers’ Workshop guest author Kristen Ghodsee gave us a sneak peek into her writing process in My Ten Steps for Writing a Book, confiding that she had not even been fully aware of it until she sat down to consciously think it out. After six weeks of purposeful writing as part of this writing group, what new practices have you added to your process? What is helping you get where you want to be in the writing?
Four more weeks to go, so this might also be a good time to not only check-in on last week, but also assess your goals for the remainder of the writing group, and also tune in on Monday for our next Writers’ Workshop post, this time from Zoe Crossland, professor of archaeology at Columbia University.
Finally, if you missed it, there is still time to add strength to your writing support network—create an Anthropology Zombie Apocalypse Team! I made mine yesterday and got Sam Beckett, Kurt Vonnegut, and Franz Boas. This week I’m going to see if I can’t channel some Kurt Vonnegut in my writing. This could be interesting….
Good week here. Finished all revisions and copyedits for my article which should be out soon. Up next: finishing article #2 by next Friday, then sending it in to journal the following week. Should be do-able if the writing gods and my Zombie Apocalypse Team are willing to join forces on inspiration and energy this week.
Not so good fortnight over here illness in the house, childcare issues and forgetting that the older ones were on school hols this week has culminated in almost no writing and much frustration as I approach my deadline next week.
Lets hope week 7 allows a burst of activity!
I had a self-imposed deadline today: I wanted to finish the chapter that I have been working on these past weeks before the end of February. It’s 22h30 in The Netherlands at the moment, and I just finalized what looks like a reasonable first draft. Technically I made the deadline. However….
… this afternoon, while working on what was supposed to become some sort of closing to the piece, it suddenly dawned on me – I was indeed writing a conclusion, only it didn’t belong to this chapter! Once I realized what was going on, I forced myself to take a step back. I tried to reconsider the overall structure of the thesis, and how the almost-finished chapter was supposed to fit in. I also started wondering whether it would make sense to squeeze in the chapter of which I now have a conclusion, but yet no purpose. It all greatly disoriented me, and the energy that I have put into my work these past weeks took its toll. I need a good rest, and a relaxing weekend. The existential crisis can wait till Monday.
Original goal: Finish a variety of journal articles (one resubmission, one revision of comments, two new submission, as well as finish editing a book chapter)
New update: Finished resubmission, finished revision of comments, new progress on one new submission, and extensive progress on book chapter.
I’ve been neglecting to comment each week so here is a full update of my progress to-date. I’ve also been working on submitting two conference abstracts today, as well as another abstract for conference proceedings (with a grad student for Monday). Last, another abstract was accepted with paper due in early May so I am adding that as the official second new submission to my original goal – whew! A busy time. Happy writing to all!