April 2021
Upon entering graduate school, it did not take long for us to realize that much of our success boils down to one thing—writing.
Obviously, we should not define our entire lives by how well and how much we write. Our self-esteem should be derived from many different dimensions of our lives.
Nonetheless, as creators and interpreters of knowledge, communicating our ideas and findings is important. The work we do in graduate school, regardless of discipline, should impact those beyond just ourselves.
Writing is important. But it is also not that easy.
There are some people in the academy who believe that writing is the most important thing we do. Hence, numerous writing resources will tell us to adopt a writing identity. This made sense to me. Christian speaker and author Joyce Meyer famously claimed, “Where the mind goes, the man follows.”
However, I had trouble putting this into practice. How exactly did one go about taking on a new identity?
The answer for me came while listening to a Tony Robbins talk on YouTube. Robbins is an internationally known motivational speaker and has authored several self-help books. In the video, Robbins described what it was like in the early years of his career. He stated that while driving to meet clients he would repeat the same mantra over and over again. By the time he arrived, he fully believed in what he was saying and was able to direct all his energy into coaching his client.
What I took from his experience is that what we focus on impacts our actions and beliefs. Therefore, in the mornings, I recite some variation of: “I am a prolific academic writer.”
Repeating this phrase puts my subconscious mind to work. My attitude toward writing has changed. I no longer dread opening up my projects. I am by no means writing thousands of words a day. However, I am doing something every day to move my manuscripts forward.
This looks different depending on how much time I have, my level of motivation, my environment, etc. The majority of the time it is generating text or editing. Sometimes, it is merely typing up notes from my phone, organizing thoughts that I have scattered across several loose-leaf pieces of paper, consolidating information from my Google Docs, writing down ideas or adding commentary about what needs to be added, deleted or revised in a paper. All of these things help my writing process, as they get me closer to being able to generate text. Some days, I only write a sentence or two. On a good day, I can write 100-150 words. On a great day, I can generate several paragraphs.
I also discovered that writing long hand helps me generate text more quickly than typing because I am less tempted to edit as I go. When I use word processing programs, it is distracting to know I have an error in my text. I want to resolve the mistake as quickly as possible. When I write by hand, it is not worth my time to go back and change spelling or grammar mistakes because I know I am going to type up my work anyways.
Your writing process has to work for you. There is no right way for what occurs between the conception of a paper and when you submit the manuscript to a journal. You can start with the methods section. You can outline your entire paper in bullet points first. Writing does not have to be a linear process.
Writing is unique to you. Listen to your body. Take into consideration your external environment. Try things out to see what works for you.
I am sharing my experiences in the hope you will feel validated, motivated or encouraged regarding your own writing journeys.
Happy writing!
Sakina Dixon is a doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications
Obviously, we should not define our entire lives by how well and how much we write. Our self-esteem should be derived from many different dimensions of our lives.
Nonetheless, as creators and interpreters of knowledge, communicating our ideas and findings is important. The work we do in graduate school, regardless of discipline, should impact those beyond just ourselves.
Writing is important. But it is also not that easy.
There are some people in the academy who believe that writing is the most important thing we do. Hence, numerous writing resources will tell us to adopt a writing identity. This made sense to me. Christian speaker and author Joyce Meyer famously claimed, “Where the mind goes, the man follows.”
However, I had trouble putting this into practice. How exactly did one go about taking on a new identity?
The answer for me came while listening to a Tony Robbins talk on YouTube. Robbins is an internationally known motivational speaker and has authored several self-help books. In the video, Robbins described what it was like in the early years of his career. He stated that while driving to meet clients he would repeat the same mantra over and over again. By the time he arrived, he fully believed in what he was saying and was able to direct all his energy into coaching his client.
What I took from his experience is that what we focus on impacts our actions and beliefs. Therefore, in the mornings, I recite some variation of: “I am a prolific academic writer.”
Repeating this phrase puts my subconscious mind to work. My attitude toward writing has changed. I no longer dread opening up my projects. I am by no means writing thousands of words a day. However, I am doing something every day to move my manuscripts forward.
This looks different depending on how much time I have, my level of motivation, my environment, etc. The majority of the time it is generating text or editing. Sometimes, it is merely typing up notes from my phone, organizing thoughts that I have scattered across several loose-leaf pieces of paper, consolidating information from my Google Docs, writing down ideas or adding commentary about what needs to be added, deleted or revised in a paper. All of these things help my writing process, as they get me closer to being able to generate text. Some days, I only write a sentence or two. On a good day, I can write 100-150 words. On a great day, I can generate several paragraphs.
I also discovered that writing long hand helps me generate text more quickly than typing because I am less tempted to edit as I go. When I use word processing programs, it is distracting to know I have an error in my text. I want to resolve the mistake as quickly as possible. When I write by hand, it is not worth my time to go back and change spelling or grammar mistakes because I know I am going to type up my work anyways.
Your writing process has to work for you. There is no right way for what occurs between the conception of a paper and when you submit the manuscript to a journal. You can start with the methods section. You can outline your entire paper in bullet points first. Writing does not have to be a linear process.
Writing is unique to you. Listen to your body. Take into consideration your external environment. Try things out to see what works for you.
I am sharing my experiences in the hope you will feel validated, motivated or encouraged regarding your own writing journeys.
Happy writing!
Sakina Dixon is a doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications