Do you enjoy writing? Or do you dread the thought of having to do it? I was thinking about how many of you probably don’t particularly enjoy writing, but rather enjoy having written. You have to write for your job, to further your career. Writing is a “have to” activity for you, not a “want to” one. So what can you do to make this process less painful? Change your mindset. Don’t focus on the feeling of dread leading up to or while writing. Instead, focus on how you’ll feel after. You may never enjoy the process, but you’ll be proud when you are done and feel accomplished in having completed the task you had set for yourself.

I think of it in terms of a hard workout or long-distance run. You may dread having to tie-up your shoelaces to hit the road running, knowing you have 13 miles ahead of you, and struggle to push through to the finish. But you make it. That feeling of accomplishment elates you. What I’m trying to say is, if you focus on that feeling you get when you finish that first draft (chapter, manuscript, article, etc.), rather than how hard the task will be, getting started isn’t so hard.

Happy writing!

Should I keep the title of my paper brief?
The title of this article sums up perfectly what you’ll learn by reading this piece. So, I won’t give anything away and just say, read it to find out! ?

To Stop Procrastinating, Start by Understanding the Emotions Involved
Although this piece isn’t specifically addressing procrastinating in relation to one’s writing, it does offer great insight for why you may be procrastinating and how to possibly overcome it.

The Sunday Meeting
Kerry Ann Rockquemore gives excellent advice for how to create a plan of action for reaching your semester goals. Want to know the secret? You’ll just have to read this piece! ?

No. You Don’t Have to “Write Every Day.”
If you feel like you have to write every day to thrive as a writer, you need to read this piece. Just because writing every day works for someone, it doesn’t mean that it will work for you. The key to writing, and anything in life, is finding what works best for YOU!

This University Is Eliminating Textbooks
Consider this your industry news piece of the week: An east coast university, that has about 84,000 students, is doing away with textbooks. Is this a trend more colleges and universities will follow? As a textbook author, is this alarming to you?

10 steps to PhD failure
I’m sharing this piece because it sprouted a lot of conversations on Twitter and was received with many mixed reviews and feelings. What do you think about this article? I also suggest you check out this rebuttal piece: 10 Steps to PhD Success.

on the perils of self-citation
How often do you self-cite? Pat Thomson explores self-citation practices in this piece. Related and just as interesting, is this article, Men Who Admire Their Own Work.