Are you struggling to reach your writing goals? TAA recently launched a new Writing Accountability Group within its online member community, CONNECT, to help members share their writing goals and progress updates, give and receive encouragement, and keep each other accountable for daily, weekly or monthly goals.
Top 10 gift ideas for writers
‘Tis the season for thinking (or struggling to think) of and giving the perfect gift to give the writer in your life. Luckily for you I have done the thinking for you and compiled a great list of gifts for any writer. Fair warning, the gifts below range from practical to wacky, but you’re sure to find at least one that the writer in your life will appreciate! Happy holidays!
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: December 4, 2015
December is here! As much as I’m not a winter person, I do love the month of December—Christmas lights, cookies,…
Begin with what you don’t know: An end of year reflection and meditation for academics
W.S. Merwin, who was recently the Poet Laureate of the United States, grew up in New York City. As a child, he had a recurring nightmare of concrete covering all the green areas of the earth. His whole life, and all his poetry and writing, has had the aim of serving to make sure that this doesn’t happen.
We academics are an anxious group. Will my article be accepted? Will I get tenure? Will my department survive the next round of budget cuts? We can get stuck in endless cycles of worry.
2016 TAA Textbook Award nominations deadline is December 1
Gain recognition with your fellow authors and within the textbook publishing industry by nominating your textbook for a 2016 TAA Textbook Award. The nominations deadline for the 2016 Textbook Excellence Award (“Texty”), McGuffey Longevity Award (“McGuffey”) and Most Promising New Textbook Award is December 1.
Holiday strategies to honor your all-important academic project
The holidays can be wonderful times for reconnecting with family and friends, taking breathers from the daily-weekly-yearly chase of accomplishment, kindling or rekindling feelings of love, warmth, and generosity even to those who have published much more than you, and indulging in delectable seasonal goodies. But we academics often feel conflicted about how much time to “take off.” Maybe we’re feeling the pressure of having to participate in holiday events. Maybe we’re worried about being grilled by well-intentioned family or friends about the progress of our dissertation, article, or book. Maybe we’re very aware of the dangerous loss of momentum from our work. Maybe we just don’t like all those jolly gatherings.
Here, from clients who have suffered through such “maybes,” I suggest three holiday strategies you can apply, depending on the severity of your “maybes” and your fortitude. We don’t have to be at the mercy of the holidays!