Post date: Mar 25, 2020 5:0:55 PM
I'm going to begin a series of short posts on books and other media you might find helpful, or at least interesting. The first one I'm going to talk about is Paul Silvia's How To Write A Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing-- not just now though.
Time is short. Instead, I'd like to talk about "specious barriers". Of "specious barriers" to writing Silvia writes,
At first they appear to be legitimate reasons for not writing, but they crumble under critical scrutiny.
I'm interested in one particular specious barrier today that has to do with a belief about what "writing" is when you're doing projects of the kind you're working on here.
Here is Silvia:
Specious Barrier 2 : I need to do some more analyses first," aka, "I need to read a few more articles. (Silvia 18)
He observes that at first, this barrier seems reasonable-- we often need to conduct more research or collect more data. The belief becomes a barrier when it keeps the writer from doing the work that will turn analyses and reading into texts they can submit. That work includes "the prewriting, reading, outlining, idea generating and data analysis" that turns into an article or a chapter.
Challenge that belief directly, though action.
Do whatever you need to do during your allotted writing time. (Silvia 18)
An assumption lurks under the belief. Many people I meed believe "writing" is only one when they are producing versions of a text they are going to share-- a draft, for instance, of the article or chapter itself, the piece they intend to edit later.
But writers know that many tasks and activities flow together and branch off into the tributaries that comprises individual pieces of writing.
Says Silvia
Writing is more than typing words. Any action that is instrumental in completing a writing project counts as writing.
I share with Silvia a belief about this belief: If you believe that Writing is more than typing words. Any action that is instrumental in completing a writing project counts as writing you are more likely to use the time you set for writing in ways that move your project forward even when you aren't drafting text. You might free write, review your logs, calendars and plans, organize material and prepare analyses. You might spend time reading model texts, exploring the rhetorical situation implicit in a journal where you want to publish, or reading books like Silvia's to solve craft problems. And, of course, outlining, story boarding, creating graphic organizers, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading.
Just one more thing. ..
You may be used to looking at your week in terms of tasks to accomplish-- a to-do or next action list.
If you're not accustomed to it, consider thinking about your work in terms of "studio" time. If this is true
Writing is more than typing words. Any action that is instrumental in completing a writing project counts as writing.
But you're uncertain of which actions you'll take in some particular order, set aside studio time.
That's what I did today. I've been back on my heels these last several. I knew that I needed to, once again, Resolve to Begin. Getting reoriented was my logical next step. So I decided that this morning-- before I confused the "urgent" and the "important"-- I'd get back in touch with the tools I've used to stay organized: some lists, a look at the calendar, due dates, and so on.
Since writing is more than typing words, I know that the time I spent on that reorientation process is time well spent. At eight o'clock tonight, when it's quite and the work day's done, I'll be back for two hours more (because I can right now). I know what I need to do-- not sure what I'll choose.
Studio Time: 8:00 pm to 10: pm-- Studio time
I'll tell you how it went tomorrow.