Roll up roll up Autumn Writing Challenge!

[bigkidsdidit]

Welcome everyone to Autumn Writing. Post your targets to be done before Christmas. Small or large!

[CocoaIsGone]

I am actually really pleased to be writing at all, it has been the world's longest block, and it shows on my CV. I have now started faffing too though, as DC are home.

[bigkidsdidit]

Another two hours on paper here. Hurray. And I mapped out a piece of work for the HEA fellowship. A good day

[bigkidsdidit]

My entire paper (4 years' work) is 1500 words. So I work in time rather than words!

[Yogafire]

My goals for this week now shifted to next as forgot I still have a quite major section to write. Various dc stuff going on too so it's short days all week. My schedule is slipping ☹️

[NeverEverAnythingEver]

I have New Ideas which means either
(a) This paper will never be written before the End Of Time;
or
(b) This paper will be written before the End Of Time but the New Ideas would not be in it, which means it would probably be rejected;
or
(c) This paper will not be written.

That is optimism, that is.

[purplepandas]

Working on paper 1 already and will get back to it later (skiving off for school assembly in a bit)

[worstofbothworlds]

Grr, I was supposed to have a Skype meeting (that's already been postponed due to illness) at 9.15 and I dropped DC2 at nursery and sprinted to make it but no show!

Have not started anything else since then of course. But am about to crack on with Grant 1 Half-hour 1 of 2 today.

Last grant (which was a piggyback of a bigger grant) was rejected at round 1 (less than a week after submission!). It wasn't a huge effort but even so that's 2 out of 2 rejected since June, one got through to second round (the one I'm working on now).

Various admin things to check (though hooray Lecture of Video Doom is now working in a lecture theatre) and staff meeting which I will not be able to sit through all of due to back issues so I need to go and work out which bit is most crucial with the admin lead.

[Yogafire]

Do your universities help with grant applications? We have an internal vetting process. Institutional support is helpful (if it's of the helpful kind. Of course sometimes too many cooks... )

[Yogafire]

I am planning a new section of my chapter today and yes I'm going to begin writing it too. All by 2.45... I have to now

[worstofbothworlds]

Yoga the admin support is a LOT better than it was - lots of help with getting costings right for a start whereas it used to be a lot of floundering in the dark.

In theory our colleagues are supposed to read grant applications but in practice they are really too busy (or "too busy"). HoD mutters that they are supposed to get workload hours for this.

[NeverEverAnythingEver]

We get admin help for all the incomprehensible costing stuff. But there is resistance to internal vetting. We are too varied within the group, I think.

[ghislaine]

Right, I have a call with a co-author in a couple of hours, so I am posting here to Make It Happen. I've also booked myself into a staff writing retreat during reading week to focus the mind.

1. Finish and submit article with co-author by Christmas
   
2. Finish book chapter by Christmas
   
3. Do any revisions required to article currently out for peer review.

[worstofbothworlds]

Ours aren't really vetted in any meaningful way (or alternatively I've never written one bad enough to be vetoed!)

[CocoaIsGone]

I have not written anything book chapter-related this morning. I have now got side-tracked into looking up data, and I have precisely one and a half hours to do the section I wanted to do! Focus needed.

[JustAnotherManicUsername]

I failed to clear my morning for writing but can squeeze in one pomodoro right now before a meeting if I stop avoiding it and reading MN instead... I'm off.

[JustAnotherManicUsername]

Hmm, well I didn't write anything but I did a conceptual map with post-it notes and arrows between them, which I think just reiterates what I already thought the article was about, but may have helped to clarify my thoughts. Maybe.

[Yogafire]

I do that! Endlessly rewrite my plan as a way to gather my thoughts or remind myself what on earth my work is about. (I am in the thick of monograph writing, no distractions other than life, and I cannot remember where I am every Monday morning)

[Yogafire]

Contrary to (my own) expectation I hit my target for today. Planned section and wrote 1000words of it. They're pretty poor but good start for tomorrow. Dare I challenge myself to another 2000? I'm about to have a glass of wine, which will either clear my head for tomorrow or make for a slow start. Anything you do on a Friday is above and beyond though, right?

[bigkidsdidit]

I finished my paper! I finished my paper!

[ArbitraryName]

Well done!

[bigkidsdidit]

Other authors doing quick check and I hope to submit on Monday. Having wine and enormous sigh of relief now. It's been relentless for months

[CocoaIsGone]

Well done indeed! I have been in meetings and student presentations today, no writing achieved.

[purplepandas]

Go bigkids, you are a superstar!

I just sent another draft of mine to the second co-author. Will get their comments, revise and send out to all other authors. Small steps...

Whilst waiting for that one I need to get my head around the other one. Lots of teaching next week though!

[Yogafire]

Yay bigkids!
This week - finish the section I'm on at present. Review part 1 and re-plan, ready to revise/rewrite chapters 1-3 by end of Oct

[bigkidsdidit]

This week for me:

Two pieces of work (drafts partially done) for HEA fellowship complete
Map out paper 2 and list all experiments outstanding for it