Six Ways to Get Scholarly Writing Done
Most people who teach at universities know how difficult it can be to make time for writing. Tenure-line faculty often see writing time dwindle as their service commitments increase. Contingent faculty can find it hard to make time to write since they are often scrambling from position to position, trying to land the next gig and make ends meet. And this doesn’t account for the busyness of the rest of life, whether it’s partners, kids, ailing parents, hobbies, pandemic malaise, and so on.
Trying to carve out writing time is something that I struggled with during my eight years in academia. I was often overwhelmed by teaching, as well as my institution’s heavy service expectations. But I did develop strategies that helped me. I’m sharing some of them below. Of course, there’s no single approach that magically works for all people. So I recommend experimenting with a variety of ways to jumpstart your writing and then trying to stick with what works best for you. While this post is geared towards scholarly writers, hopefully these suggestions will help other kinds of authors as well.
1
Try and write at least four to five days a week. It doesn’t have to be for long, but do make the time. I would often only have thirty to forty-five minutes a day to write, but small chunks added up over a few months. Writing for frequent short periods does require letting go of the myth that you can only write when you have a four hour block. I argue that writing several days a week for short periods recreates some of the benefits of the four hour block since the writing remains fresh in your mind. Writing consistently meant that I could be more productive since I could quickly get into the mental headspace required for this kind of work. It also meant that, since I was revisiting my writing frequently, I could work out challenges and issues I might be having with a current project during down time (while riding the bus or going on a run), which saved time in the end. Having large chunks of time for writing might be more ideal, but if we all waited around for four hour blocks, there would likely be far fewer books out in the world. If you have a hard time doing this on your own, you might consider joining a writing group like the ones I offer.
2
Find your best writing time. Our brains tend to be sharpest at certain times of day. Mine is best in the early morning. So I tried to do my writing first thing before I checked email or started any other work. I found that writing early made it easier for me to engage with the work that followed, since I had already prioritized something that was very important to me. But if you are a night person, try and make that your writing time. Writing is often challenging, but it’s less frustrating if you’re doing it at a time when your brain is working well. This will also make you more likely to do it.
3
Treat writing like a important commitment. In my first years of teaching, I was often overwhelmed with work. I found myself putting off writing because it seemed like the easiest thing to let go of. But that left me feeling frustrated and anxious because I was ignoring one of the main reasons that I went into academia. So I started blocking off writing time on my google calendar and treating it like my classes. If a colleague asked to schedule something during my teaching time, of course I would say no. I started to apply the same principle to writing time. Once I started treating my writing as an important commitment, I found it easier to make time for it.
4
Say no to things. As a junior faculty member, I felt like I had to say yes to the many commitments I got asked to take on. But I quickly learned that saying yes to another committee often meant saying no to writing. So I started trying to prioritize what I said yes to and to think about how saying yes would impact the rest of my time. Saying no isn’t easy, especially depending on how precarious your academic position might be. It can also be more difficult for faculty from some groups, such as people of color and women. It got easier for me once I found people who could help me say no. These were often more senior colleagues who could talk through requests with me and help me prioritize what I should be focusing on. Ideally, it might be your chair. Finding someone who understands your positionality and the possible repercussions of saying no at your institution can also help you to navigate the difficult politics of academia.
5
Set some deadlines. Deadlines can help propel us forward and give incentive to get writing done. Sometimes I found deadlines to share material with writing groups helpful. Publication or submission deadlines can also help. Some people find it useful to hire a developmental editor and to turn drafts into her on a schedule (though this requires some money). Others have friends who they share their writing with, even if the friends don’t read it. Arranging for some level of accountability can help make it easier to sit down and write.
6
Acknowledge that not all writing time is good writing time. Some days I produced junk. Some days I could hardly write anything at all. Some days I felt like the worst writer in the world and an absolute failure. Unfortunately, all of these feelings are normal for writers (not just writers in academia). What you don’t want to do is to let a day like this derail you and keep you away from writing the next day. That can add up over time and make it more and more difficult to write at all. Once I started seeing bad writing days as part of the process, it was easier to get through them. It was almost like my brain needed a bad day to produce something better a few days down the line. So keep going. Don’t be the reason that your writing time disappears.
For some lucky people writing and making time for writing is easy. But for the rest of us, being deliberate about getting writing done can make it easier. The good thing is, once you put ideas like the above into practice, it’s easier to keep going. Trust that you can get it done and that what you have to say is worth getting out there. Happy, happy writing to you!
What has helped you get your writing done? Share in the comments below!
