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AcWriMo 2018: A month in review

Each November since 2011, academic writers from around the world have committed themselves to a month of forward progress in their personal academic writing efforts through an event known as AcWriMo (Academic Writing Month). To achieve greater levels of accountability and connectedness with other academics, many take to Twitter and other social media outlets to share their plans, challenges, accomplishments, and resources using the hashtag #AcWriMo.
While originally inspired by the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) concept, AcWriMo does not share the objective of completing a single project (i.e. a novel) in the 30 calendar days of November, but rather provides a means for focusing individuals on their own academic writing project(s) during that time. If you participated in AcWriMo 2018, we’d love to hear about your accomplishments in the comments below. If not, perhaps you can gain some inspiration from the documented efforts of others shared in this article.

Resource sharing

This year TAA focused discussion and resources around the 5 W’s of Academic Writing in a series of weekly #AcWriChat TweetChat events.

#AcWriMo 2018 - The 5 W's of Academic Writing

Our friends at SAGE MethodSpace produced a series of blog articles looking at ways researchers develop a holistic publication strategy.

Primrose Language Editing in the UK shared ways to embrace AcWriMo kicking off the month with a post on setting a writing schedule, and adding other posts on joining a community and staying motivated throughout the month.

Goal setting

For some, AcWriMo was less about the resources and more about the word count.

For others, it was about the development of a successful writing practice.

Of course, the milestones along the way can be quite motivating (or at least worth the pause to celebrate).

Key takeaway

Just because AcWriMo is over (until next November), doesn’t mean that your academic writing efforts should go on hold. We hope that you can find inspiration in the above accomplishments of other academic writers to move forward in your current projects and maintain a healthy, productive writing practice all year long.

Eric SchmiederEric Schmieder is the Membership Marketing Manager for TAA. He has taught computer technology concepts to curriculum, continuing education, and corporate training students since 2001. A lifelong learner, teacher, and textbook author, Eric seeks to use technology in ways that improve results in his daily processes and in the lives of those he serves. His latest textbook, Web, Database, and Programming: A foundational approach to data-driven application development using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL, and PHP, First Edition, is available now through Sentia Publishing.

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By: Eric SchmiederCategories: Writing