‘Joy-first’: A counterintuitive guide to the academic summer
In this post I show you how to slow down the vanishing act of the academic summer by getting real about the time, scheduling rest, and prioritising fun writing projects that bring you joy. Yes, that project that gives you butterflies but you’re never allowed to work on because there’s always something else more important. That one. Dare you?
The I-D-E-A framework for serial over-committers
Saying no to stuff you actually want to do is hard, but there are only so many hours in the day, and our energy is finite. In this post I will introduce you to my ‘I-D-E-A’ framework: a tried and tested tool to help you sift through your ideas to find the ones you actually have time and energy to pursue, and park the others until you do.
There’s no such thing as writer’s block
Yes, you’re blocked. But you don’t have ‘writer’s block’. Because writer’s block is a symptom, not the disease. Writer’s block is your brain’s warning light that something deeper is wrong, so if you’re feeling stuck, this is good news! Once you fix the fault it’s always possible to get unstuck. Here are some diagnostic questions to ask…
Don’t bore your reader: sentence hacks for punchy prose
No matter what kind of research-led writer you are, your prose needs to be punchy. Like it or not we live in an attention economy so keeping eyes on the page (or screen) is vital to communicate the stories that deserve to be told.
Four lessons research-led writers can learn from poets.
Poets are maestros of pace, energy and emotion and work with astonishing linguistic economy. The worlds they conjure from only a few choice words meticulously arranged, are testament to how poems bloom in reader’s imaginations.
Taming the Inner Critic: A Therapist’s Guide to Authentic Writing and Self-Compassion
GUEST BLOG: A mini-course from Mark Shipton to help you find a more authentic voice for your writing by using therapy-based techniques to reduce the strength of, and understand, your inner critic.
Five ways to use research in your nonfiction writing
By definition, nonfiction texts are fact-based pieces of writing. And finding out those facts is where research comes in.
Fear and trust: on The Salt Path
When the allegations against Raynor Winn and The Salt Path first broke, seeing a fellow nonfiction writer publicly lambasted for not telling the truth left me feeling anxious for days. Could this ever happen to me? I’m reassuring myself by remembering that there are tried-and-tested methods we can use to provide reasons why readers absolutely can – and should trust our research-led writing and here they are.
How I found my publisher for ‘Minor Keys’
I didn’t want to write Minor Keys as a traditional academic book, despite being a Professor. I wanted ordinary people to read it but how could I get my book out there to the people I wanted to reach?
Why can’t I just DO this?
Why Can’t I just do this?? we wail. In this post I expose the myth of the solo writer, emphasising the the importance of enlisting others to help us work through our blocks
Writing as Hospitality: an interview with Beatriz Acevedo
To write with hospitality. An enchanting idea from Beatriz Acevedo that puts kindness and beauty at the heart of what we do as writers
Write research-led page turners that you can’t put down
Want to write your research up with joy and excitement? Can journal articles and textbooks ever be page-turners that you can’t put down?
Crassula Ovata: Bringing in abundance
What if we begin this year with a mindset of abundance and not scarcity? What if it all works out beautifully?