The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: October 30, 2015

November 1 is two short days away from being here. Since 2011 when Charlotte Frost (Founder and Director of PhD2Published) created #AcBoWriMo, November has been a month long marathon for academic writers to declare their writing goals, write and share progress updates along the way, plus connect and encourage other academics all over the world also striving to reach their writing goals. Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo for short), as it is now called, is the perfect excuse to start a blog or Twitter account to share your goals and progress, to encourage others, and to receive support and encouragement as you write.

The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: October 9, 2015

I think everyone needs to print this quote and tape it someplace clearly visible on his or her desk, computer, or writing space. Look at it every time you sit down to write. Quiet the voices of negativity and just write. You are capable of writing well, of writing that is worthy of others to read, you just have to believe it and shut down the voices that tell you otherwise! One of my favorite quotes, and one that fits perfectly here, was said by Muhammad Ali, “To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.” Believing in your abilities to write is half the hurdle. Once you believe that, getting words onto the page will become easier. Happy writing!

The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: October 2, 2015

Happy October! Are you staying on track with your fall writing projects? Whether you are or you aren’t, Jodi Picoult’s advice—”You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”seems an appropriate reminder. We may not always write things worth keeping or it may need heavy editing, but at least it is down on paper. Something is there that is workable and moldable. A blank page cannot offer that.