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]

Well done purple

Thanks, yoga I spent today catching up on editing for something else, so off target completely. But I got some writing done over the weekend and I am happier with the structure and argument now. Realistically it needs another two weeks so I need to go quicker. I am exhausted, though.

[worstofbothworlds]

Aargh I just wasted most of the day faffing - started my first half hour on my grant at 5 and had to go and pick up DC2 before I even finished!
I did write a stack of emails, arranged a data meeting for next week and booked onto a (probably useless) "clicker" training session.
And did some work on my lecture.

[Yogafire]

Nothing like school pick up to ruin the flow! worst

I'm starting my rewrite today and it's a big lot of rewriting and rearranging. Aiming to finish chapter 1 revision on Friday

[bigkidsdidit]

I've been told about a leadership course, which is three full weekends. I am debating what would be best for my career - this course or three weekends where I book myself into a hotel and do nothing but write??

[worstofbothworlds]

Oh my goodness, my dream would be 3 weekends with no distractions! But I might have to go to the gym/spa as well to keep myself from stiffening up in my chair, you know.
NO CONTEST.
Anyway I have done 2 x 1/2 hr on my new grant and about 3/4 of today's admin so that's much better than yesterday.

[bigkidsdidit]

I couldn't really, apart from anything else I have a pc not a laptop - but the idea has germinated now... wonder if dh would take he dc to his parents for a few weekends and leave me to it

[worstofbothworlds]

Could you borrow a laptop? We have a few for loan in the department which can be used e.g. if teaching or presenting somewhere that doesn't have a PC.

[bigkidsdidit]

important thread news

We started this thread three weeks ago.

There are ten more weeks until Christmas!

KEEP GOING EVERYONE

[bigkidsdidit]

Realising the dates has given me a fright. I have done my number 1, and 3 of my 5 HEA assignments. Have not even thought about paper 2 or ethics.

Off for half term now so I can't even do anything about it 😩

[Yogafire]

Yeah half term is looming as a big date. I have written 700 words today. Trying to make it 1000 by 5.25pm

[worstofbothworlds]

Didn't do anything on my lecture but did submit my proofs of article, er... oh it looks like it's article 0 and wasn't on my list.

[worstofbothworlds]

Meetings meetings meetings this morning but aiming for 2 x 1/2hr on grant and at least a short amount of time on my lectures.

[Yogafire]

Aiming to rewrite all of what I did yesterday and finish the section. If I don't do this I will not meet my finish chapter ambition for Friday (which i think will need shifting to next weds but not fully admitting that yet)

[Yogafire]

I need to do some grants! Impressed by everyone else's prolific grant applications

[PeteMe]

Hi everyone,
I have one journal paper I could write from my thesis but I just can't face opening my thesis. I really enjoyed it whilst I was working on it, and did publish from it, but now that the PhD phase is over and done with, I just don't want to go back to it. My post doc thankfully is in a different but complementary area, so there's no need for me to look back as such.

Did anyone else feel like this? I feel guilty as I have a publishable chapter and time to work on it too, but my brain just doesn't want to do it (and it is not procrastination - it feels like it is something deeper - possibly that I don't want to be reminded of that stressful phase?). Is it really ok to leave it? I could probably get into a top journal too in my field ...

[Yogafire]

I had exactly that. I did my postdoc on something totally different cos like you I was fed up with the PhD
Will your PhD material go out of date? You can prob leave for a little while but from an academic career perspective i have to say, if you have the time and can get into a top journal could you just grin and bear it? I regret not publishing my PhD as a book but did get a couple of articles out of it at least

[PeteMe]

Thanks @YogaFire , I'm pleased to hear it is just not me!

You are right, logically it makes sense to publish it now, and your gentle push had made me take my thesis out (which is a big step!).

As it is an open access journal I wish to submit too, I'm not sure whether to apply for open access funding from my old university (where the research was conducted) or the new one, where I am currently at?

[worstofbothworlds]

2 x 1/2 hour grant - tick
Lecture - nope - forgot we have a seminar!

PeteMe your new one - I've just got open access funding for Paper 0 from my current university/related to current grant, despite the research being rather elderly and funded by someone else (I was at my current university when it was conducted but only just).

[JustAnotherManicUsername]

I've never had anything open access pub'd :-(

I really wish I'd published more from my thesis, PeteMe - good luck with the emotional work around revisiting it - totally remember that too, which was one of the reasons I didn't!

I have until just before 11 and am going to try to do a significant chunk of work on second-author chapter. At least integrating the stuff I read yesterday and ideally something else as well. I'm struggling a bit with the fact that my co-author is a 'splurge it all out on the page and never mind the word limit' writer whereas I'm a careful and slow writer who has to see the whole before they can write anything. But it does mean writing this way round with her as the first author is good because we get a first draft really quickly. Now I just need to add what I think needs adding and make some suggestions for cuts.

[bigkidsdidit]

Morning all!

9 weeks to go!

I'm back from half term. I am going to submit paper 1 this week and finish my HEA assignments, then clear the deck for paper 2. Also have two talks to write for upcoming conferences.

[Yogafire]

Yo yo yo I'm going to finish this chapter this week (revised deadline - given myself a whole 5 days more).

Is that 9 weeks til Xmas? Eek

[worstofbothworlds]

Total fail this morning, took about a year to get 4 MCQs written up then drama crisis owing to an admin person not bothering to reply to an email a year ago, regarding a student.
Now have to go and see someone about some data and eat my lunch and go on a training course and see the student in question and and and... unlikely to write ANYTHING today! Not even the lecture that is due vv soon!

[purplepandas]

paper submitted!!!! It will bounce as aiming too high but submitted regardless. Now to find back up plan for next journal.

Struggling with everything else though so I am not feeling smug at all.

[bigkidsdidit]

Well done!

[worstofbothworlds]

Hooray!
Lecture finished (one big one and 3 updates to go). Squeezed in just one half hour of grant.
Need to chase up where my co-authors are with our book.