What part of your writing makes you feel uncomfortable? Do you sometimes feel silly trying something new like building a writing habit or saying the word “Pomodoro”? Oftentimes our self-doubt or fear will increase these feelings as well.

In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we look at where to put our focus while writing, facing down fear, overcoming the blank page, and habits of a successful student. We look next at research ethics, editing your writing, and treating networking like something familiar – a research project. Finally, we explore support for authors in open access publishing.

Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, “If people did not do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.” So I challenge you to embrace the silly this week. Try something new, face down your fears, approach your writing from a different (perhaps even absurd) perspective, and see what intelligent results you produce. Happy writing!

Writing process vs. product: Do you focus on the doing or the having

Which is more important—the process of writing or the product that results? It’s not something we think much about, but as creatives, one of these two things is typically motivating us. And it’s good to know what our drivers are. I’m glad David Duhr is talking about this today, because it’s providing a lot of food for thought.

How to face down writer fear

Fear is probably the #1 factor preventing writers from seeing success in their careers. I’ve had many writers tell me they’re afraid of failing, afraid of rejection, afraid of bad reviews, afraid people will laugh at them, afraid readers will hate their book, afraid people will judge them or tell them they are selfishly wasting their time writing when they could be doing something more productive or meaningful. There are probably more reasons to be afraid than there are to keep writing.

Warrior of the blank page. Writing, marketing and mindset with Steven Pressfield

How can you write through self-doubt? How can you break through Resistance to write and market your work? How do you decide which book to write next? Steven Pressfield talks about being a warrior of the blank page, how he deals with Resistance around writing and marketing, as well as self-doubt and other aspects of mindset that we all face on the writer’s journey.

10 Habits of a successful student

Any student can learn and adapt to the best habits to help become a successful student. It can be excellent organization skills or finding the perfect study area. All these positive habits can develop with a little practice and patience.

Let’s take a big picture look at “research ethics”

While some may think that research ethics refers to the paperwork and guidelines associated with a pre-research proposal review, clearly, ethical questions are associated with the very foundations of research practice.

Editing your writing – lessons from chefs?

You can pick up helpful ideas from the most unlikely places. Like cooking shows. Yes I watch cooking shows, it’s one of my guilty pleasures. I’m sure I’m not the only one, given their popularity. Sometimes they offer more than new ways with potatoes. Just last week I found myself thinking about the ways in which cooking programme judges use the term “editing”.

Treating networking like a research project

I know networks are really important for a career, and I know how much of an issue networking can be for me, so I try to be considered and prepared about what I do. I need more of a run-up to networking than some others, and this post shares the four steps I take to ease myself into making new connections.

Building an easier path toward open access book publishing: Support for authors

The conversation around open access books seems to have moved on from debating the benefits for readers and authors, to how open access book publishing can be better supported. Whilst finding sustainable business models for open access books is still a hot topic, it isn’t something that will be solved quickly, and requires a concerted, collaborative effort across the community. Instead, this post focuses on what is needed to address the specific questions and challenges of authors with an immediate need or desire to publish their book open access.