Writing On- and Off- Ramps

In this episode, I explore the concept of writing off-ramps and on-ramps—a metaphor (and practical toolset) for how to put your writing down with intention and pick it back up with ease. Whether you’re heading into a planned vacation or returning from an unexpected pause, learning to manage transitions is a key part of building a sustainable academic writing practice. You’ll learn how to exit your writing flow gently, leave strategic breadcrumbs for your future self, and design a smooth, flexible re-entry that supports your long-term goals without burnout or self-judgment.

If you’re craving a writing practice that feels stable, resilient, and empowering, this episode is a must-listen. Stop treating breaks like setbacks, and learn the tools and mindset you need to turn your writing pauses into powerful pivots.

And don’t forget: our next Navigate information session is happening on July 23, 2025. To get all the details, make sure you’re on my email list—sign up at scholarsvoice.org.

You Don’t Have to Write Non-Stop to Be a “Serious” Academic

There’s a myth in academia that real writers write constantly, but that mindset leads to burnout, not progress. This episode reframes writing breaks as intentional, empowering acts that support your long-term productivity and well-being. Learn how writing off-ramps and on-ramps create consistency through agency, not rigidity.

How to Exit Your Writing Practice Gracefully

Stopping your writing isn’t failure—it’s a skill. I walk you through how to plan an off-ramp using the highway metaphor, including:

• Identifying a logical stopping point (even if it’s mid-section),
• Leaving detailed notes or “breadcrumbs” for your future self and
• Pre-scheduling your return before you step away.

These small but powerful moves can make the difference between restarting with ease or feeling completely lost.

Designing a Gentle Re-Entry (Your Writing On-ramp)

Returning from a writing break? Don’t jump in with both feet. I will show you how to:

• Plan your re-entry like an on-ramp—slow, thoughtful, and aligned with your real energy levels,
• Use a “read and reacquaint” session as your first step back,
• Avoid the trap of scarcity by trusting that breaks can fuel your writing, not hinder it.

This process isn’t just for summer vacations. It works for conference travel, illness, or any life disruption.

“Too often the feeling that you might have if you’re not in control of your writing practice is that things derail you all the time. Things will be going well and then something will blindside you and you’ll get out of your writing practice. You feel like you don’t have consistency. You feel like you’re not in control of your consistency. Having a writing on an off ramp is just one of many different ways to think about your writing practice to help you really form control over it.”

“I want everybody to acknowledge the importance of transitions. Transitions help you to feel agency, to feel in control. Paying attention to and giving some energy and thoughtfulness into transitions helps you to feel agency and feel in control. What you want to do when you are planning a writing off ramp, when you plan to put your writing down, you want to start making this plan or you want to think about how you’re going to put your writing down two miles before you get there. Not the day before.”

We’ve opened the waitlist for our next cohort of Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap®. Check out the program details and get on the waitlist here.

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION:

1. Our 12-week Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap® program helps tenure-track womxn and nonbinary professors to publish their backlog of papers so that their voice can have the impact they know is possible. Get on the waitlist here!
2. Cathy’s book, Making Time to Write: How to Resist the Patriarchy and Take Control of Your Academic Career Through Writing is available in print! Learn how to build your career around your writing practice while shattering the myths of writing every day, accountability, and motivation, doing mindset work that’s going to reshape your writing,and changing academic culture one womxn and nonbinary professor at a time. Get your print copy today or order it for a friend here!
3. If you would like to hear more from Cathy for free, please subscribe to the weekly newsletter, In the Pipeline, at scholarsvoice.org. It’s a newsletter that she personally writes that goes out once a week with writing and publication tips, strategies, inspiration, book reviews and more.

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