As we enter the season of spring and its principle of opening this month, let’s begin by using our ears, which are always open, to go beyond hearing those internal stories into listening to the larger world.
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: March 13, 2015
I’m excited for a few reasons this week. First, spring-like temperatures have arrived and stuck around for multiple days. (Woot!)…
What motivates you to write?
What is the one thing you need when you sit down to write? I don’t mean the obvious pen and paper or computer, but that one other thing that you always have when you write? Maybe it’s a tall-soy-caramel-macchiato and a corner booth at the local coffee shop. Maybe it’s a stack of papers with all of your research, or an expanding file folder packed full, yet obsessively organized, with research material. Maybe it’s not even a physical thing or place. Maybe it’s nothing more than a seed of an idea or a spark of inspiration.
Creating balance through writing and nature
As a writing coach who works with academics, one of the stumbling blocks my clients come up against at a certain point in their career is what I call “path block.” This usually happens, ironically, after a big success: finishing the dissertation, getting a new job, or having a book published.
I understand this block and I have experienced it myself. Nature even gave me a literal experience of this block one day many years ago when I was walking in the woods behind my house and the briars and brambles around me stopped me in my tracks. I thought to myself, “It would be so much easier if I had a path.” I looked down and there on the ground was a hawk feather. I picked it up and realized I must make my own path.
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: February 20, 2015
Another chilly week here in Wisconsin, and more snow for the east coast—both great excuses to stay in and write.…
