Category Archives: crappy first draft

revising? start strategically

Whether you are revising your own writing or responding to reviewer feedback, you need to work out what to do. But you also need to work out where to start.  You may have made a revising plan or written out … Continue reading

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a first draft in five minutes a day?

This is a brief post. It’s a brief post about a brief strategy which helps you to get started on writing that feels a bit – well – a bit boring. It’s the five minutes a day strategy. Boring? Yes … Continue reading

Posted in being stuck, boring writing, crappy first draft, pomodoro, speed writing, stuck points, tiny targets, writing to get unstuck | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

working up a first draft: a twelve step strategy

If you are drafting, it is pretty easy to find a lot of advice about the benefits of free writing. Lots of people find that timed writing sprints help to generate content. Unstructured writing is useful to work out what … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, crappy first draft, drafting, notebook, Tiny Text, writing in chunks | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

from description to analysis – a revision strategy

PhDers are often told by their supervisors that their work needs to move from description to analysis. But what does this mean?  Have you just wasted your time doing all that describing? Well, in short, no. The good news is … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, analysis, crappy first draft, data analysis, description, empirical analysis, revision, revision strategy | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

revising a thesis chapter

You’ve written a first draft of your chapter. Hooray! That’s an achievement. You can’t get anywhere without a first draft. Pat yourself on the back. And then… Step away from the desk. Take a break. Leave your draft and do … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, chapter, crappy first draft, revision, revision strategy, thesis, thesis revision | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments