Is an Academic Writing Retreat a Vacation?
Every year my department takes a day-long “retreat” at the end of the semester. When it’s announced, many people roll their eyes and sigh deeply. That’s because our department retreat isn’t really a retreat. It’s an 8-hour meeting with bad catering. Nobody wants to do...
How to Do a Writing Sprint
You may have heard me talk about “tiger time.” That’s a term that I picked up from entrepreneur Amy Porterfield. The idea is that if you use your most focused and energized hours of the day, you don’t need big blocks of time to write. Instead,...
Finishing the article that’s almost done
At some point or another we’ve all had one. That draft that is almost done, but not quite ready to submit for publication. Maybe it’s a dissertation chapter, a conference paper, or an excellent seminar paper. It’s really written already, but it needs...
What to do if you can’t go on a writer’s retreat
Imagine yourself on a writer’s retreat. No committee meetings. No teaching. No grading (weeeee!!!!). No meals to prepare. No small humans or pets to care for. Just you, your writing project, and the focus you’ve needed for so long. But let’s get...
Seasons of Writing in the Academic Year
Academia ebbs and flows. This, in some ways, is the beauty of it. The beginning of each term feels like a new start, and the end of each term feels like closing a chapter. But of course, this rhythm mostly applies to teaching. Research, especially writing, does not...
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