Academic common room
Non fiction writing or study goals
MistySkiesAfterRain · 22/08/2021 15:24
I'm not sure if this is the best place to post but I can ask for it to be moved.
I regularly write what can best be described as reports in my line of work and for various reasons am currently largely working unsupervised. It's a daily slog and I wanted to start a thread to share writing goals and progress, and offer any encouragement to others doing anything similar or even other academic study goals etc.
Today I'm getting started working on 2 pieces, each of which I can break down into 200/300 word sections. My current goals are to get through the meaty sections.
upthefrogs · 23/08/2021 09:41
Hello @mistyskiesafterrain I'm with you. I have been writing a book this summer. It has been a hard slog. I am just about there with the first draft but so full of self-doubt about whether it says anything worthwhile that I can hardly bear to look at it. This morning I am engaged in extensive procrastination when what I need to do is read the whole thing, check for grammar, sense, typos etc. My plan for the next two days is to do that that, followed by references and formatting for the following two days. We could check in later in the week?
MistySkiesAfterRain · 24/08/2021 15:05
Hi @upthefrogs Sorry for my late reply I was following the thread but wasn't sure if I'd get responses.
Writing a book is a worthy endeavour. I can understand the doubting, to question yourself must be part of the process. I too need an outlet where I can transform this procrastination into purposeful time.
Your plan sounds great. Let me know how it goes. I'll remember to check in later this week hopefully.
I finished my first piece yesterday. My focus now is on important correspondence. Each one is completely different so its a case of diving in.
The wider aim is a plan of work I developed earlier this year. I'm five or six steps behind where I want to be, for various reasons, and also due a long break at some point in the next month or so, so if I can push on through it then I'll have a much nicer break.
If I post a stream of updates it means things are going well!
MistySkiesAfterRain · 26/08/2021 23:33
How did you get on @upthefrogs? I got through a couple of correspondence pieces. I've been on leave for 3 days, nice holiday away. Mon is a bank hol, but I do need to put some hours in. Sat morning I'm going to make a 3 day plan.
MistySkiesAfterRain · 31/08/2021 10:43
The weekend faded away with chores.
I'm writing a report today. Having tea and making a plan in 10 minutes.
MistySkiesAfterRain · 01/09/2021 17:11
Back in focus mode. Nothing significant got done yesterday.
I've got nine pieces of correspondence to do, I am going to power through six.
TheBitchOfTheVicar · 01/09/2021 17:17
I'm interested in this, though I've just handed in two university assignments and don't begin the next course until January.
For accountability, I sometimes joined online writing-group sessions. These were more likely to be attended by fiction and creative writers, but it didn't matter because we shared more general goals such as word counts, chapters, redrafts etc. I found them helpful for what I needed
MistySkiesAfterRain · 02/09/2021 01:07
@TheBitchOfTheVicar it's good to know different support is out there. Where were the writing groups?
I'll still be plodding along in January 😂.
I got through five pieces of correspondence. Plan is to get up early and do another one and then I'm going to do a big piece of writing. I'll feel so good when I've got another one down by the weekend.
MistySkiesAfterRain · 02/09/2021 14:13
I got through all my correspondence. I'm going to have a short break then tackle the big one.
lomaamina · 04/09/2021 07:48
Hi @MistySkiesAfterRain, this thread is mainly used by university lecturers to discuss work matters. Perhaps it’s worth asking Mumsnet HQ where it might get more responses?
MedSchoolRat · 04/09/2021 20:48
tbh, I'm baffled by academics who struggle to write things. Writing is the easiest part of my job. Similar when I worked in non-academic jobs. Writing is easy. Maybe because it's not creative in my job. Just assembling information clearly, with contextualisation.
Tedious data cleaning, persuading people to put time in to collaborate, getting grants, getting ethics approval - those are the challenges.
GCAcademic · 04/09/2021 23:24
@MedSchoolRat
Tedious data cleaning, persuading people to put time in to collaborate, getting grants, getting ethics approval - those are the challenges.
I find it baffling that and depressing that academics can’t seem to understand that not all research processes are like their own. It surely cannot be that difficult to grasp that writing is an entirely different process in different disciplines. In the humanities it is where most of the thinking and intellectual labour takes place.
MedSchoolRat · 05/09/2021 09:30
ShitAcademicsSay is always talking about procrastinating and struggling on the writing. I can't get that, either. The best use of SAS is to read the comments. A lot of cutting humour. Except they are obsessed with mandatory covid vaccinations for university students right now. Some other unscientific ideas dominating too.
I am often told on this forum that my experience is unusual, bizarre. That I cannot be happy as a fixed term contract researcher. That I may be lying when I say that I know lots of contract research staff at multiple Unis who have long term jobs at the same Uni & think our job is a pretty good gig. We have no desire to leave academia and no need to move around to different Unis to have satisfactory work.
Meanwhile This forum is repeatedly full of people saying how dreary & awful their job as an academic is. How wonderful the work world is outside of academia.
I can't understand you lot & you can't understand me (!!). But I find your stories fascinating so will stick around anyway.
ps: OP's task sounds more like my type of writing.
MistySkiesAfterRain · 06/09/2021 08:13
Haha @MedSchoolRat the italics in your post is what my job is 🤣.
I'm really burned out tbh. I don't really know where to put this thread, I just want writing buddies to share the pain with, but agree this probably isn't the right place. I'm due some time off so hopefully that'll sort me out.
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