Unless you were on that island with Tom Hanks in Cast Away, you have likely heard a lot about ChatGPT, Bard, and other artificial intelligence chatbots in the last two months. I mean a lot. Like too much.
You have likely heard about the revolutionary changes coming to the web, the world, education, and more. I am here to tell you as authors, take a breath. Don’t give up the ship. It will all be okay.
If you happen to be stuck in your academic writing, the good news is:
(1) You are not alone! This happens to all of us.
(2) There are remedies. Stay with me and read on.
First, ask yourself, “Why am I stuck?”
You might be stuck because you don’t know what to say.
OR
You might be stuck because you have too much to say.
Gain valuable advice and insight, get your questions answered, or just make a connection for when you need help in the future by signing up to meet with a mentor at the 2023 TAA Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring, which will be held online June 9-10, 2023.
The deadline for signing up for mentoring is May 15. Limited slots are available and are offered on a first come, first-served basis, so don’t delay, register for the conference today!
Choose from nine different mentors for up to two 15-minute one-on-one discussions:
The first article in this series, based on Rachael Cayley’s October 19, 2022, TAA webinar, “Confronting the Anxiety of Academic Writing,” considered the importance of taking academic writing anxiety seriously. The second discussed Cayley’s suggestions for tackling the intellectual and practical difficulties associated with writing.
In this third article, we delve into the first of Cayley’s three principles for reconceptualizing writing: using writing to clarify your own thinking. In subsequent posts, will discuss the other two principles: committing to extensive revision and understanding the needs of the reader.
The first article in this series, based on Rachael Cayley’s October 19, 2022 TAA webinar, “Confronting the Anxiety of Academic Writing”, covered the concerns of writing product and writing process and how they are so deeply rooted that they start to feel inevitable.
In this second article, we discuss some of the ways that Cayley suggests tackling the intellectual and practical difficulties associated with writing. To tackle the intellectual difficulties, she says, you need to reconceptualize writing: “Writing is not a simple matter of writing up something that has already been created. Prior to writing, for most of us, there’s not much there. And that creative process—the process of getting words out of our inchoate minds and on to the page—is an intensely difficult one. No matter how much underlying research, or note taking, or outlining, or thinking you may have done.”
“I want to feel more joyful through the process of my writing.” If this statement resonates, you will not want to miss the 2023 TAA Conference session, Empowering Joyful Writing, by Dr. Tracy Hodges, Owner and Chief Creative Officer of The Empowering Advocate LLC.
The stressors of current life are pushing more and more people to seek joy in their work. Writing is one task that may not spark joy for many of us— it is challenging, vulnerable, and time-consuming.
