Dear Future Self,
I read a book today by Eviatar Zerubavel called, The Clockwork Muse: A Practical Guide to Writing Theses, Dissertations, and Books that will be helpful as you begin to write your dissertation or begin a career in writing. In the book, Zerubavel discussed developing writing habits what will help you complete your writing. He suggested several things to consider while developing writing habits for a large project like a dissertation. He explains that it is best to be disciplined with your writing schedule, honest with yourself about your best writing time and what you require to write and structured so that your writing sessions are productive. Which means you need to plan effectively, organize your time and writing, and work towards deadlines.
While reading this book, I began to reflect on my own writing habits or lack thereof. I realized there is so much I don’t know about my writing habits that I need to begin to observe as I prepare to write my dissertation. With completing my first year of my PhD journey, I thought reading this book now (verse 2 years from now) was very helpful as it provided me space to reflect on the habits I discovered during my first year back in school and what I still need to learn as I continue this writing journey. As I approach my second year, I realized this is the perfect time to start exploring my writing habits. At this point, you maybe wondering what writing habits are. They are just like work habits but tailored to your writing. Zerubavel explains that good work habits include effective planning, organization, and meeting deadlines these are the same for writing habits.
As a writer and student, I have always worked hard towards the deadline. If my assignment is due on Monday, I will begin working hard on Friday or Saturday and continue on through Sunday (if needed, I am slow writer). I will always meet my deadline on Monday. Some may view this as last minute; however, I describe this as the reality for a full time professional who works over 70 hrs a week. In addition, I schedule time to write all day for two days. I will also write most of the day with very few breaks but lots of distractions (calls, texts, changing of music, etc). I often feel like the distractions help my creative process (or at least that is what I have convinced myself). I have now learned that this writing process may not be helpful when having to write a large document with a yearlong deadline like a dissertation.
Two thing Zerubavel mentioned that really resonated with me is that there should be a balance between writing and life and when life happens your habits change. This puts things into perspective for me. You often hear people talking about how writing their dissertation took over their life. Zerubavel says it doesn’t have to as long as you are disciplined and honest with yourself about your schedule and writing needs and are productive during your writing sessions. Scheduling session times that don’t conflict with other things, making them frequent and making sure they are an effect length of time. Most importantly when things come up have an A time and B time prepared to write. Second, Zerubavel also discussed stopping on a high in order to keep your mental momentum. If you stop when you feel that you had a productive writing session, you will be more likely to want to write again. Honestly, no one wants to do something they feel is a waste of their time! Especially not sitting at your computer writing. Knowing when to end your session is key. It is okay to end it an hour early if you feel you have reached your peek because this will help you enter into your next writing session ready to get to work!
When writing this blog, I tried two of Zerbubavel’s suggestions. First, I scheduled a two and half-hour window for writing. I woke up early because I feel like my creative juice flows better around 10-12:30. I also limited my interruptions and distractions. Second, I wrote an outline of my thoughts and began to type. I felt like my thoughts flowed with in that time. I was able to accomplish a lot of writing within that window of time. I also felt very comfortable and confident with what I wrote because I was not distracted. I felt like my thoughts are well organized and I had to do very few edits at the end.
So, future me, let’s get busy preparing to write. The sooner you are able to discover your writing habits the faster you will be able to get your dissertation complete. If you are disciplined, honest with yourself and organized, you can make this happen. Go PhorwarD and write!
Sincerely,
Your First Year Self
Chiquita, Thank you for your post. You bring up a really important difference between writing for class versus writing a dissertation (or proposal). Like you, I write for classes using a similar technique of setting aside some time and isolating myself from the world for that time (usually 5 hours). However, the type of writing required for the second form of writing does require a different approach - one where the fluidity between writing sessions can be maintained.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as I read your post I agree that taking this class so early in the path towards your PhD gives you an advantage. It took me many frustrating writing sessions, where my proposal felt choppy and disjointed, before I figured out that I could not work on it once a month (and also as separate parts based on the subtitles of sections). I think this class, these readings, and this sharing will be beneficial for all of us - I am glad to be on this journey with you.
Hello Chiquita! I enjoyed reading about your journey as a writer and noticed some similar habits I also find myself doing when I write. The rituals! I also prepare myself mentally with finding the best time of the day and have a need to listen to music when I write. It seems to keep me focused and motivated for some reason. The fact that I get distracted easily and prefer complete silence for other activities, music or some background noise surprisingly keeps me focused during writing. The first year in this program was challenging for me to find what worked in keeping me on track with assignments and of course along with all other life duties. As it seems, you have a very busy work schedule and that can be tricky to find a balance between personal, professional and academic responsibilities. It can be so tiring and frustrating at times, but we overcame it and here we are! I too feel intimidated by the idea of writing a dissertation. But i really think that if you have a well organized study with committee members who can support you with areas of expertise, skill, yet also challenge and comfort, that we will be well taken care of. Outside of that it is also helpful to have emotional support from family and friends. This is important too. You already have some solid rituals in place that seem helpful to you but I'm sure after reading The Clockwork Muse that you connected with some of the tips you can integrate in the future to relieve some of the stress that comes along with writing. I look forward to continue collaborating with you and learning more about you as a writer. : )
ReplyDeleteThis part really resonated with me:
ReplyDelete"However, students who identify as first-generation and/or marginalized enter into the college environment at a disadvantage and often do not engage in social activities. Participation in student activism activities can affect the engagement levels and retention of these disadvantaged students."
Thinking/looking exogenously, we must ask: How/why are certain students marginalized? What are the social/economic/cultural forces that produce this state of marginalization? What are the techniques or tools by which marginalization is enacted upon students?
Likewise, how do student activists push back against these exogenous factors? How does engaging in confrontational ways with exogeny (which in many ways is what activism is all about, right?) in particular contribute to student engagement? How do student activists transform these exogenous conditions/factors?