Why I’ve Created a Writing Group
In the current “publish or perish” culture, writing skills are essential for building a successful career in academia. However, developing good practices is still a very individual process, even if universities offer some support like courses in academic writing. In this post, I will tell my story of becoming a Homo Scribens - a researcher who writes regularly and with pleasure.
Photo by Chandra Putra on Unsplash
By Idalia Fedotova
Doctoral researcher at University of Eastern Finland
Former Lecturer at the HSE School of Foreign Languages
Facilitator at the Writers’ Retreat 2022
Focusing instead of juggling
Multitasking is praised nowadays, but I find it impossible to write when I need to do many things at a time. Being a mother of small children and having a teaching position at HSE, I found it extremely hard to focus on research writing ever. There were always urgent things to do that required my immediate attention: lessons to prepare and give, meetings, messages from work and children’s chats. If I wanted to write papers for research projects I was in, I needed to organize some uninterrupted writing time, but how?
A change of scene
I wrote one important paper entirely in a pizzeria across the street, after the working day, staying up late and thus escaping my family’s evening routines. This change of scenery (alongside coffee and some cheesecake) triggered the necessary transition into a writing mode, and also gave necessary restrictions. In those settings, I only worked on one task (that paper), muted my phone and was unreachable in a way. When the deadline was met and the paper submitted, I went back to normal working hours. Sometimes after a teaching day, I settled at the university library to write research papers, while I was not too tired. This change of scenery associated with a specific task brings me focus and boosts my productivity.
I still like working in a library: that’s become a habit. I can do most things remotely from home, but working in the library gives me a sense of belonging to the academic community. It also eliminates distractions that I have at home, like laundry, dishes, or noise.
Sharing emotions
Focus is one important thing, but all kinds of emotions affect the researcher’s performance, too. In the writing haul, positive emotions (sense of accomplishment, excitement, inspiration) are not as frequent as toxic and devastating feelings of being overwhelmed, powerless, and lonely. Doing research is quite isolating by definition. For me, the game-changer was establishing a writing group.
At the writers’ retreat organized by HSE Academic Writing Center in 2022, I met interested colleagues who wanted to continue to write together and support each other. Hence, I’ve set up an independent online writing group, and it is still relevant and vibrant, with a few core people and a couple of on-off participants.
What is a writing group
A writing group is a community of like-minded researchers who support each other at regular meetings. There are a few benefits of being part of such a group:
- You have an appointment, so you need to show up to do something.
- You block time in your calendar and start thinking about the topic in advance.
- You manage your workload better: some tasks are allocated to the writing group slot, and you save other tasks for other slots and focus on writing. However, if you are not in the mood for writing but feel like collecting data instead, you have the freedom to do so.
- Emotional support: somebody is waiting for you, and peers encourage each other. Venting releases pressure – it is an essential and unique feature of a writing group as a format.
- Feeling normal: somebody is here also writing and having the same problems.
- You talk about your research, so it helps thinking and eventually writing.
- You check your plans against reality and correct them.
People in the writing group are at different stages and doing different things. That’s why they can support each other and give unexpectedly helpful tips and comments. When you are focused on your task, you may be caught up in tunnel vision, unable to see side tracks and shortcuts. And if you have problems with your research at this point, this may seem like the end of the world. Luckily, your peers are not trapped in the same situation and can give useful tips. For example, struggling with a paper, I didn’t know how to make it focused, clear, and concise. I was drawn in different directions and couldn’t choose one central aspect. The peers in the writing group listened to my doubts and advised me to narrow down the geographical area that I wanted to study. It made sense: I chose one area, felt relieved and wrote the text up quickly. So, people who are not experts in my narrow field, still were able to give me valuable advice.
How to set up a writing group
There are international platforms for peer-writers, for example, Focusmate and Shut Up & Write.
Moreover, everyone can establish their own writing group with colleagues or like-minded people. Here are five steps that I’ve done:
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Create a zoom link and invite colleagues.
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Say what you all are going to do during the session.
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Off for a fixed time (25 mins, 2 hours etc.).
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Back together. Say what you have done. Share.
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Repeat next time (in a week, in two weeks, in a month).
Becoming a researcher who writes requires a special mindset, but can also be boosted through set-up. Instead of fighting negative emotions and struggling with progress, it’s better to connect to people and gain support from sharing time, space, and your feelings.
Further reading:
Philips, T. (2012). Graduate writing groups: Shaping writing and writers from student to scholar. Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, 10(1). https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/items/97d40329-2d0f-4df7-90df-1484800f367e
Sword, H. (2017). Air & light & time & space: How successful academics write. Harvard University Press