By Nathan Pritts

I’ve seen how writing—whether through a short reflection, a shared strategy, or a full article—can become a powerful tool for professional development. It’s about refining ideas, sparking discussions, and contributing to a community of practice.

But after a recent faculty workshop I led, a colleague pulled me aside and said, ‘I’d love to write more, but I have no idea what I’d even say.’ If this sounds familiar, here’s what I want you to know: You already have something worth sharing.

What might seem obvious or routine to you, isn’t to everyone else. I’ve seen this firsthand in my own work when I’ve delivered faculty training and said things as simple as, “Spread your discussion board responses throughout the week” or “Make sure to respond to students who respond to you.” These aren’t groundbreaking ideas, but they’re useful. And when something is useful, it’s worth sharing.

How to Find What You Have to Say

If you don’t know what to write about, the problem usually isn’t that you have nothing to say—it’s that you haven’t figured out where to start. As educators, we ask students to articulate their learning. That same practice—capturing and refining our own ideas—can help us grow professionally and contribute to larger conversations in our field.

1. Ask Yourself: What Do I Want to Be Known For?

One way to find a focus is to think about what you want to be known for. What topics do you care about? What ideas do you find yourself returning to again and again?

When I started writing about AI in education, it wasn’t because I had a perfectly mapped-out plan. In fact, one early article I wrote could be seen as counseling against AI!  But the more I experimented and explored, and the more I talked to other educators, I started to realize I had a unique approach. I wrote a couple more pieces, then spent time thinking about what I hadn’t covered yet. I asked myself, What questions still need answers? What aspects of this conversation aren’t being talked about?

This approach helped me find both a direction and a rhythm. Each piece led to the next because I was deliberately building on what I’d already written, whether it was practical advice or using research to develop an entirely new intervention. If you have an area of expertise or a topic you care about, writing can be a way of shaping and refining your own understanding—while also positioning you as someone others look to for insight.

2. Start with What You Already Know

If you’re not sure about a bigger focus yet, that’s okay. The easiest place to start is with what you already do. If you’ve answered the same question twice, that’s a great sign it could be developed into a worthwhile article.

Think about the things that come naturally to you—your processes, the decisions you make without thinking, the strategies you rely on. Then, pretend you’re explaining them to someone who’s never done it before.

I don’t sit down to write because I have all the answers. I write because I’m figuring things out, and I want to articulate them in a way that makes sense to someone else.

3. Repurpose What You’re Already Doing

If you’ve ever written an email explaining something to a colleague, you’ve already started writing your next piece! When we document our insights and share them, we’re training, mentoring, and shaping conversations in our professional communities.

So many of my articles started as emails—quick explanations, advice, or reflections on something I’d been working through. And then I realized, Hey, I could add a few things, make this more comprehensive, dig into a little research, and turn it into an article.

This is also why I “double-dip” a lot. I don’t just write articles—I give conference talks, create training sessions, and have discussions with colleagues. And when I do, I pay attention to what resonates. If something sparks a good conversation or leads to an aha moment, that’s a sign it’s worth developing.

4. Capture Ideas as They Come

Not everything I think about turns into a full article. In fact, I have dozens of unfinished Word docs—some with just a title, others with a few bullet points or half-written paragraphs. Some of these I’ll never come back to, and that’s fine. The point is to have a place to put ideas so that when I do feel ready to write, I’m not starting from zero.

This is a huge shift if you’re someone who waits for a “perfect” idea before you start. Instead of sitting down to write with nothing, build a habit of capturing thoughts when they come. They don’t have to be fully formed—they just have to be there when you need them

Making Writing Happen

In my work supporting faculty development, I see this challenge come up again and again. People hesitate to write because they struggle to identify not just what needs saying, but what they can uniquely contribute. But the reality is, sharing our process is how we grow as scholars and educators—and how we contribute to the larger academic conversation.

Of course, none of this solves the biggest challenge: finding the time. I won’t pretend I have a magic solution for that. Some things I write in a burst over a few days because I can’t stop thinking about them. Others take weeks of tinkering before they come together. And some never do. That’s just part of the process.

But here’s what I do know: writing doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. You don’t need to block off an entire afternoon to write. You just need to start—capture an idea, write a few sentences, save an email draft. Writing is a way to refine our thinking, to contribute, and develop both ourselves and those around us. We just need to get started!

---

Dr. Nathan Pritts specializes in educational development, instructional innovation, and the integration of emerging technologies for teaching and learning. As Professor and Program Chair for First Year Writing at the University of Arizona Global Campus, he has spearheaded initiatives in strategic implementation of online learning technologies, comprehensive faculty training programs, and the creation of scalable interventions to support both faculty and students in online environments. As author and researcher, Dr. Pritts has published widely on topics including digital pedagogy and AI-enhanced curriculum design, and is the author or co-author of twelve books including Decoherence (Indiana University Press), Film: From Watching to Seeing (3e), Research & Writing (2e), and Essentials of Academic Writing (4e).  He also served as editor for Living Online: A Digital Fluency Handbook.

He’s building a playbook for how to effectively and ethically leverage gen AI in higher education at https://AmplifiedInstruction.carrd.co/.