Category Archives: planning

setting goals – starting the PhD

Posted on August 15, 2022 by pat thomson

If you’re just starting the PhD, you goal is to finish. Finish. Get it done. Get yourself across the stage to receive your testamur. Wear the floppy hat and gown. Change the signature on your email. Finally a Doctor. Makes … Continue reading →

Posted in planning, time-limited doctorates, writing goals | Tagged goal setting, Pat Thomson, planning | Leave a comment

2021 is nearly done – but 2022?

Posted on December 20, 2021 by pat thomson

Living with Covd19 has not been the occasion for an unexpected and bonus writing retreat. Well, it might have been for a few. But for most people, working from home didn’t become the occasion for increased productivity. Many people had … Continue reading →

Posted in planning, publication plan, routine, writing goals, writing routine | Tagged academic writing, Pat Thomson, routines, writing goals, writing plans | 7 Comments

ruthlessly realistic with annual plans

Posted on October 4, 2021 by pat thomson

Ah, another new academic year. Time to make plans. Take stock. Write goals. Start filling up the diary. Given the disruption we’ve experienced over the last eighteen months, it’s really tempting to think that it’ll be possible to get back … Continue reading →

Posted in pandemic, planning, time | Tagged calendar, diary, Pat Thomson, planning, time | 2 Comments

planning a paper

Posted on November 18, 2019 by pat thomson

Last week I was in Norway running a three part workshop on planning a journal article. The workshop was based around a Tiny Text abstract. As a planner myself, I use Tiny Texts for sorting out the contribution argument … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, argument, contribution, journal article, planning, planning a paper, Tiny Text | Tagged academic writing, argument, contribution, journal article, planning | 7 Comments

a planner’s approach to the first draft

Posted on September 16, 2019 by pat thomson

Writing a draft. Mmm. The word ‘writing’ suggests that all you have to do is sit down and type or scribble away. And lo and behold a text is born. But there are different pathways to writing a draft. Some … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, free-writing, looping, planning, planning a paper, poster, powerpoint, storyboard, storyboarding, Tiny Text, titles | Tagged academic writing, drafting, Pat Thomson, planning a text | 4 Comments

writing thesis chapters? beware ‘blocky’ writing

Posted on October 24, 2016 by pat thomson

It’s very common to read academic texts, particularly thesis chapters, which present themselves to the reader as a series of blocks of stuff. Each big block of stuff may well be divided up into smaller sub-headed blocks. This is not … Continue reading →

Posted in backward mapping, blocky writing, chapter, outline by sentences, planning, planning a paper | Tagged blocky writing, outline by sentences, Pat Thomson, planning | 11 Comments

starting the PhD – anticipate tasks and timings

Posted on October 15, 2015 by pat thomson

It’s little tricky to write generic advice about the PhD. That’s because every PhD is unique, as is every doctoral researcher. Not only are there clear disciplinary differences in the ways in which PhDs are accomplished, but the methodological choices … Continue reading →

Posted in PhD, PhD by publication, planning, research project, thesis | Tagged anticipation, Pat Thomson, planning the PhD | 4 Comments

book blogging – dib dib dib, be prepared

Posted on November 13, 2014 by pat thomson

Barbara and I are writing fast. The usual way to write fast is to ‘speed write’. This often requires the use of timed sessions where the goal is to write as much as possible in the allotted minutes. Another approach … Continue reading →

Posted in book writing, planning | Tagged Barbara Kamler, book writing, Pat Thomson, planning, writing fast | 1 Comment

co-writing the messy first draft

Posted on June 19, 2014 by pat thomson

another of those posts where I talk about my own practice… I’m currently engaged in several bits of co-writing. They are not the talk-and-write-together model that I do with Barbara. No, these are variations on the write-together-write-separate process. Because this … Continue reading →

Posted in abstracts, co-writing, planning, planning a paper, word budget | Tagged abstract, co-writing, Pat Thomson, planning, talking to write, writing together | 5 Comments

a drafting strategy

Posted on May 26, 2014 by pat thomson

I’m not a should-must-always person when it comes to academic writing. I think there are lots of ways to get scholarly authoring done and there are lots of ways for it to look and read. I always feel pretty uncomfortable … Continue reading →