Writing Challenges: What Do I Write Next?
As an academic developmental editor and writing coach, I often have conversations with authors about what project they should tackle next. Making such decisions can be difficult, whether it’s deciding what chapter in a book to draft (or revise) or what article to write. There is no easy answer to this question, but here are four questions to consider as you make your decision.
What do you need to write? Relatedly, you might think about what you need this piece to do for you.
The answer to these questions will depend on your position inside or outside of the academy, but is an important one to consider. Are you in a tenure-line position? If so, what are the expectations for tenure? Do you need a book or will articles do? If it’s articles, how many need to be peer reviewed? How much do invited publications count? For example, if you are in the third year of a tenure-line position and you need two more peer-reviewed articles for tenure, these are likely priorities. Have conversations with chairs and colleagues to help you understand these questions as best as you can. Then take this into consideration as you choose what to spend your time on.
Or perhaps you are in a position where there isn’t much pressure to publish or you’re in a more senior position. You might have more leeway then in what you need to write. Take advantage of that and reflect on where your own priorities and passions lie.
Having a good sense of what you need this writing project to do for your career will help you better determine how to spend your time.
What do you want to write? In our academic writing we often lose sight of ourselves. It’s easy (and sometimes necessary) to prioritize outside interests or demands. But don’t forget this really important piece! So in deciding what to do next, think about what you most want to write. What aspects of the book or of your new project are you most excited about? What do you feel passionate about? Working on something that you care about is not only (generally) easier to get done, but it can be more interesting for others to read since readers pick up on your interest and passion.
What else is going on in your work and life? To answer this question, think about how busy you are. Think about how exhausted you are. Think about what other tasks you need to juggle during the time you are writing this piece.
Maybe you are heading into a semester where you have a light teaching load and your child is in a very stable childcare program. Great! Perhaps you will have the bandwidth to tackle a more challenging project. But if you are teaching three (or four or five) courses and one of them is a new prep and you are chairing a committee, you probably want to select a project that will be easier and more manageable (or even put writing off if you can). Try and imagine what kind of brain you will have during the next few months and select a writing project that matches your bandwidth. This will help you avoid feeling frustrated that you couldn’t accomplish your goals.
Similarly, try and think about what kind of life you want in the next few months and pick a project that corresponds to this vision. If you are working on maintaining a healthy work-life balance, perhaps select a project that won’t be terribly draining.
What’s easiest? The best advice I got when I was writing my dissertation was from an advisor who told me to write the easiest chapter first. Initially this felt like cheating to me. I thought I should try to do the hardest thing to prove myself and get it out of the way. But this was very wise advice. Doing something easier helps you gather momentum that can help motivate your next project. Even more importantly (especially in the case of a book-length work), it can give you time to think through (even subconsciously) the more difficult sections. They may ultimately seem less difficult when you get to writing them.
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Once you have answered these questions, consider your answers together. Do they align? If so, that’s great! That’s the project to work on.
If they don’t, you might spend some time weighing which aspects are most important to you at this time. It might be that the thing you need to do just has to take precedence even though you don’t want to do it.
But also think about whether there might be ways to bring your answers closer into alignment. If you absolutely need to write a peer-reviewed article, but aren’t excited about the one that seems obvious to write, consider whether you might be able to turn that other project you are excited about into a peer-reviewed article instead of the book chapter you thought it would be (and often writing can be both!). Or maybe you feel like you have no brain space to write the thing you really need to write. Think about whether there are ways to free up a bit more time and space in your life. Could you step away from a service obligation for a while? Could you decide to devote less energy to one of your classes that you already feel confident teaching? Play around with the moving pieces to see if there is a way to help them better align. Things can’t always align perfectly, but they often can be better than what we initially imagine.
Good luck deciding what comes next and happy writing!
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