If you’re having trouble getting serious about writing in the new year after all the holiday time away, consider a writing journal. It’s an almost painless way to sneak back into writing and a longstanding writer’s tool to record and develop ideas, work out projects and plots, and save meaningful aphorisms and perfect overheard phrases. Whether you’ve kept a journal for decades, or have never started one, a journal not only can help you write more but also make your writing more effective.
TAA welcomes new executive director
On behalf of the TAA Council, I am pleased to announce that Kim Pawlak was promoted to Executive Director on January 1, 2023, after Michael Spinella retired as Executive Director at the end of 2022.
Kim has worked for TAA in increasingly responsible roles for more than 30 years, most recently as Director of Publishing & Operations. She was instrumental in the development of TAA’s webinar program, Month of Motivation, Writing Gyms, and many other member benefits and services.
Getting unstuck when your writing stalls out
Let’s acknowledge immediately that there are innumerable reasons why a writing project can get stalled: Maybe you took a break and lost momentum? Got irrevocably bored with the topic? Received critical feedback that you can’t get out of your mind? Therefore, we aren’t going to focus on the “why” part. Instead, regardless of why a project got cold, there are some common steps that help us get any project moving again. Today we will focus on steps addressing the underlying emotional and motivational issues. If we can clear those up, the rest will likely go smoothly.
How to write a confident-sounding CV
It’s important to present your academic self to the world with a confident-sounding CV, but CVs often don’t show all the effort and work that went into those achievements, just the end result, says Mary Beth Averill, academic writing coach, editor, and co-author of The Confident Academic: Overcoming the small fish, big pond experience… and other difficult matters.
“When you look at one person’s CV compared to another person’s CV, you really have no idea what those CVs are resting on,” she says. “What they’re resting on is probably a lot of tries, even a lot of failure.”
Help shape TAA’s future! Nominate yourself or a colleague for a position on the TAA Council
The TAA Governance Committee is seeking nominees for the TAA Council, the association’s governing board. Open positions include TAA Council positions and three Officer roles: Vice-President/President-Elect, Treasurer, and Secretary. Any TAA member in good standing may serve on the TAA Council.
The deadline to submit a nomination is Monday, February 13, 2023.
All terms start July 1, 2023. The term for Council positions is three years. Officers serve two-year terms, with the Vice-President ascending to the role of President for an additional two-year term (subject to Council approval) and then Past-President for another two-year term.
Five ways to increase your confidence as an academic
Many academics lack confidence in some aspect of their professional lives, and while some are open about this, for others, it’s a well-kept secret, says Mary Beth Averill, academic writing coach, editor, and co-author with Hillary Hutchinson of The Confident Academic: Overcoming the small fish, big pond experience… and other difficult matters.
“I’ve been working with academic writers for over 30 years, and one thing that comes up repeatedly in my work with clients is their lack of confidence,” she says. “Even people who look to me like they’re at the top of their field sometimes feel a lack of confidence in some areas of their professional life.”