Category Archives: writing

you can’t always write what you want

Posted on August 7, 2014 by

I seem to spend a lot of time these days writing things that I don’t much like, things that I don’t want to write now, or perhaps ever. This writing feels like a chore, an obligation, a duty, a necessity. … Continue reading →

Posted in writer's block, writing, writing as work | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

book blogging, second interlude, negotiations with the publisher

Posted on May 29, 2014 by

Sometime ago Barbara and I had a week in Kuala Lumpur working on our new writing book for doctoral researchers. I blogged about it at the time. Barbara is currently in the UK for five days before going on holiday … Continue reading →

Posted in book title, book writing, publisher, writing | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

seven reasons why journals reject papers

Posted on May 20, 2013 by

I’ve written about rejections several times, and most of this is scattered throughout the blog, so I thought it might be helpful to amalgamate the most important points together. All in one place. There are some very common reasons why … Continue reading →

Posted in journal, premature publication, publishing, refereeing, rejection, writing, writing research | Tagged , , | 35 Comments

should you, could you, would you… co-write with your supervisor?

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

It’s not hard to find a horror story or two about the PhD researcher who wrote something with their supervisor only to find when it was published that they weren’t given credit for the work. The supervisor put their name … Continue reading →

Posted in co-writing, journal, supervision, theft, writing, writing research | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

writing by speaking – enter the Dragon

Posted on February 4, 2013 by

I’ve recently been fiddling about with voice recognition software. Not surprisingly, it’s made me very self-conscious about the actual process of writing. I’ve been writing on a computer for a long time. I made the shift more than twenty years … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting writing, speaking, voice recognition software, writing | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

a lit review thinking tool – christmas present two

Posted on December 10, 2012 by

Working with literatures is a complex task. It is one of the places where doctoral and early career researchers come unstuck. One of the very many reasons that it’s problematic is, in my view, because there is not sufficient discussion … Continue reading →

Posted in literature mapping, literature review, literature themes, note-taking, scholarly primitives, thinking tool, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

just write – then plan, and write again – in #acwrimo and beyond

Posted on November 28, 2012 by

Someone asked me the other day whether I thought ‘just write’ was a good idea. It is something that I support, although always with the caveat that it doesn’t work for everyone. I call this ‘writing along the way’ because … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, acwrimo, just write, Peter Elbow, writer's block, writing, writing research | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments