New journal article and floundering around

[Sizzlysausage]

Hi everybody! I am just starting work on a new journal article (I haven't started a brand new one for a while). I am floundering around all over the place trying to find the right way to position it, moving between different literatures, going backwards and forwards. Can anyone remind me whether this is 'normal'? The other thing is that I think I need to do a bit of reading but this makes me feel a bit guilty (weirdly, since it's part of the job). Anyway .... would love to chat about this including how you impose some discipline on your thinking processes in these situations.

Totally normal. Write bits then work out what’s new or original about it and what your argument is.

I tend to think through writing. Which makes my writing very slow.

Today I read 3 articles, wrote a paragraph, deleted it and wrote a sentence. Gave up and sat looking out the window.

its all normal

How can you be an academic and feel guilty about reading 😁 I’m in science and I devote one day a week to it. I can’t keep up with the literature otherwise. I’m writing a grant now and reading 5-10 papers a day

In terms of writing articles, I also think through writing, so it takes me a couple of years to write each one - so I try to have 5 or so on the go at any one time, and Bob between them adding bits and deleting bits

@bge that sounds like a great process - how do you manage to block a full day for reading, plus more for writing?

I put all my meetings with my lab team (12 people atm) into two days, and have two days for admin and stuff that just turns up but also writing. One day at home reading. I only teach 20 hours a year

entirely normal. I find it useful to take notes as I read - it used to be index cards, now online. and then re-arrange the notes by themes / topics / arguments as the paper starts to come together. but it can take a lot of time, and if it doesn't take time, that probably means you aren't thinking properly or doing original work.

I'm scoping out a book and I think I'm losing my mind! I have little index cards, piles of paper, notebooks and so many digital folders. It's at a messy point - seems I have lost the plot, quite literally. So much reading - hard to keep the notes indexed. It feels like I will never get it all clear and it's just getting murkier and murkier. I must get a couple of chapters and the chapter overviews done before the alarm goes off for the start of teaching. I'm not feeling at all optimistic about the project.