Writing productivity
Dr. Michael Rifenburg
Department of English
CTLL Senior Faculty Fellow for Scholarly Writing
throughout
positive
viewing yourself as a writer
viewing your work through p&t guidelines
A comfort
"Productive writers don't have special gifts or special traits--they just spend their time writing and use this time for efficiently"
"Writing productivity is about actions that you aren't doing but could easily do"
--from How to Write A Lot: A Practical Guide to Academic Writing. Paul Silva, 2007.
What do we know?
Among faculty at Bacc institutions....
17.2 % have not published a journal article
63.2% have not published a book
16.7% spend 0 hours a week on writing & scholarship
32.8% spend 1-4 hours
An answer...
Research repeatedly shows
Writing productivity comes down to
Structure
&
Accountability
STRUCTURE
- Making a schedule
-
Setting clear goals
-
Keeping track of your work
-
Rewarding yourself
--from How to Write A Lot: A Practical Guide to Academic Writing. Paul Silva, 2007.
STRUCTURE, cont'd
30 minutes a day
+
4.5 days a week
=
180 pages of revised writing annually
--from Dr. Tara Gray,
Director of Teaching Academy, New Mexico St.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Writing Groups
Shut Up & Write
Write Now Academy
Structured or unstructured / F2F or remote, the goal =
sharing drafts
supporting
creating / connecting / cultivating
Guiding Words
Connect
Cultivate
Create
REFERENCES
Belcher, W.L. (2009). Writing your journal article in 12 weeks.
Boice, R. (1990). Professors as writers: A self-help guide to productive writing.
Germano, W. (2005). From dissertation to book.
Germano, W. (2012). Getting it published.
Hayot, W. (2014). The elements of academic style.
Activity
Three posters:
academic writing barriers
work barriers
life, non-work barriers
what you love about academic writing / research
fill in the posters--no names
Activity, cont'd
been there and got a thought = +
feel you but got nothing = [triangle]
am there and want to talk = !
add your name next to your symbol
Group name activity
4 index cards per person.
on two index cards write a noun
on two index cards write a verb
mix them up, pick a noun and a verb = group name
Overview of academy and book
Belcher's Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks
Google docs
4 meetings
Week 1 starts Sept 3
my work
Wide-variety of publications. Single and co-authored.
What can I help you with?
next meeting
led by Dr. Paul Raptis
Sept 28, same place and time