HELP! PhD Writers Block

[LJScorpio]

Hello Mums,

I am in write up phase of my PhD and am really struggling to get moving. I have written a total of around 10 of a required 80k words and need to submit by Sept 2019!!! Argh! I just feel so lost, its like I have tiny mountains of papers around me (tiny because there isn't enough and mountains because they feel insurmountable). They are falling from every shelf, engulfing me in a tangled mess of thoughts, feelings and stagnation and I just don't know how to get moving. I'm well and truly stuck! And haven't moved in the last 5 months!

I've spent time trying to organise files, notes, reading etc, etc and am conscious of only having done that and little else.

How did you all do it?
Where did you start from?
How did you manage your time to encourage productivity?
How did you manage all the competing thoughts in your mind that cripple you in the writing process?

I know I need to work in chunks and work little by little but how do you even start? How do you organise the big tangle of unfinished thoughts in your mind enough to get them onto paper?

Being a single parent, with a horribly abusive ex doesn't help either!

Thoughts, ideas, experiences are most welcome!

Thanks x x x

is there an RLF fellow at your university? (Should show up in a search if there is) If so, they are professinal writers padi to advise any student in any subject on how to tackle their writing blocks and problems. Setting up a few sessions with them would be a good place to start.

If not,
I'd do the snowflake method.
Write down in a sentence or two what the overall subject is.
Then expand that to a paragraph. Then to a page. Then three pages. Then make a list of contents on index cards and lay them out to see what works where.
Then expand each title from the contents list to a paraghraph, as if it were an abstract for a short talk or paper on that aspect of the topic.
Then expand the abstract to a page, then three pages.
And so on.
First you need to be as clear as you can be about what you're trying to say and the stages of explanation to the reader.

do you have an outline for your whole thesis? I mean a heading for each chapter, and then headings for the subsections within each chapter. If not, make a draft of this. Then meet with your supervisor and show it to him/ her and get feedback.

Once you have a good outline, then start filling in the detail. Section by section, try to get 1000 words on paper for that section. Come back and edit later.

Where is your supervisor in this? Your supervisor should be supporting you with the writing, not just leaving you alone. At my uni, supervisors MUST meet with PhD students at least once a month and more if the student needs it.

Agree that you need to ask your supervisor for help.
It may also be subject dependent. With a Science PhD would start with your experiments and results, then the background theory and conclusions. The abstract is written last of all.

Hello all, and thanks so much for your supportive comments x x

OneStepMoreFun, I really like this idea and have been trying to start with short paragraph for each section under my thesis outline (which I have recently reworked, creating the illusion of progress, maybe?). But have really struggled to even start with this, so the idea of breaking it down even further to a simple starting sentence is even better. Thank you for sharing. I've never heard of an RLF fellow so will check it out. Thanks

My supervisor is really active, but it must be said, I feel that he is increasingly frustrated with me and my lack of progress. We have worked on the thesis structure and he has encouraged me to start writing sections in chunks. Maybe I need to ask him to sit with me whilst I start to write for one session, seems a little elementary but might help? Not sure. I think part of my problem is that I'm well versed at writing in Psychology but having been forced to swap disciplines Im struggling with the new way. He has very set vision of my work and this differs from my own. So in that sense, I often find his help becomes a hindrance.