ACS WAG Program '23

Summer Program for Writing Accountability Groups
(June 5-July 31, 2023)

Launch Meeting: Tue, June 6, 4-5pm EDT
Writing & Weekly WAG Meeting: June 12-July 28
Final  Celebration Meeting: Thu, July 27, 2-3pm EDT

Read more about the Program below.

             “The price we pay for the practice of solitary writing is that we often doubt ourselves, we feel as if we lack courage or commitment, we find writing lonely and hard, we can’t get into it.  By [writing in community and] refusing the boundaries between individualism and community, between the public and the private…, we can … forge new, more pleasurable and productive writing selves.”  —Barbara Grant, "Writing in the Company of Other Women," 2006

What is the ACS Writing Accountability Groups Program?

In most faculty members’ long "To Do" lists, "Write that article!" is often pushed down when urgent but less important tasks emerge.  Writing is thus perennially relegated to summer, potentially productive months but also when we’re the most schedule-free and isolated from our colleagues--two traits that can become challenges for writing productivity.

If accountability, structure, and community sound like helpful writing assistants to you, join the ACS Summer Writing Accountability Group (WAG) Program.  Participants will be placed into multi-institutional groups that serve as mutual accountability partners throughout the summer.  

Rhythm of the WAG Program

Stipends

Participants who complete the program will receive $500 stipends. 

This program is supported by the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) and their Summer Workshops and Working Groups program.

What is a WAG/Writing Accountability Group?

A WAG is not the same as a typical writing group in which participants may just simply write.  A WAG is about accountability, structure, and community.

To be precise, a WAG is “​an active writing group that meets once a week over a 10-week block [Note: ours is 8 weeks] and follows a strict agenda of 15 minutes of updates and goal-setting followed by 30 minutes of individual writing, and then 15 minutes of reporting and wrap-up (there is no peer review of your writing – the WAG is focused on developing a process and habit of writing).  A WAG is limited to 4-8 members and you MUST commit to attending at least 7 of the weekly sessions. I guarantee that if you adhere to the plan, you will achieve increased writing productivity (quantity and quality), have greater control over the writing process, experience improved goal-setting and time management, and as a bonus, you'll establish relationships with new colleagues and friends.”   --Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s Office of Faculty Development

Who is the Program facilitator?

Nancy Chick is Director of the Endeavor Foundation Center for Faculty Development at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.  In 2020, she ended a nine-year run as the  founding co-editor of Teaching & Learning Inquiry (the journal of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning/ISSOTL) and editor/co-editor of several books in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).  In addition to her experience as an editor, she has a faculty developer with a PhD in English and is keenly interested in faculty members’ roles as writers. Some of her favorite professional experiences have been hosting day-long (in-person) faculty writing retreats in various sites off campus. She looks forward to the day when she can do this again.  To learn more about Nancy, visit her website.

Who are the writers?

In 2021, 22 writers completed the Program by participating in 5 WAGs.  In 2022, 40 writers completed the Program by participating in 10 WAGs.  The participants in the 2023 program are below--listed first by campus, then by WAG.

By Campus

Centenary College


Hendrix College


Davidson College


Furman University


Millsaps College


Rollins College


Sewanee-University of the South


Southwestern University


Spelman College


Trinity University


Washington & Lee University


By WAG

A Spotlight on History

Feed Me While I Write

WAGmates

ACSribes

Flow Writers

NOMADS

We Are Greats

Magic 8

The Motivators



             “The price we pay for the practice of solitary writing is that we often doubt ourselves, we feel as if we lack courage or commitment, we find writing lonely and hard, we can’t get into it.  By [writing in community and] refusing the boundaries between individualism and community, between the public and the private…, we can … forge new, more pleasurable and productive writing selves.”  —Barbara Grant, "Writing in the Company of Other Women," 2006

Plan Your Summer

Choose among these templates to break your project into manageable phases, goals, tasks, and timelines. 

Track Your Progress

Track your progress at the end of each week, and see how others are doing.  (The link to the tracking site will be available when the program starts, and only WAG Program participants have editing access.)

Meet with Your WAG

Set and report on weekly writing goals, and get a little writing done during your WAG weekly meetings.
(What's a WAG?  See below!)

             “I have exchanged the stringent vocabulary of boot camps, coaching and cures for a more enticing set of metaphors…. And alongside the puritanical prescriptions of [Robert] Boice and his followers, I suggest strategies for explicitly linking productivity with craftsmanship, people, and pleasure: for example, by reading books and attending workshops or courses that will make them feel more confident in their writing style; by forming collaborative relationships premised on emotional support rather than on disciplinary sanctions; and by seeking out writing venues filled with light and air.”  — Helen Sword, “’Write Every Day!’: A Mantra Dismantled,” 2016

Optional Resources & Opportunities

Seeking Peer Feedback

When you're ready to share all of part of your draft, consider this advice. 

Additional Resources Upon Participant Request

What do you need to support your writing this year?

https://sites.google.com/view/acs-wag/