Tag Archives: writing

reading! you’re meant to be writing

Posted on November 13, 2017 by pat thomson

It might seem strange to be writing about reading during #AcWriMo. But I was reminded, at a recent writing retreat get-together, of the close and symbiotic relationship between writing and reading. One of our group had sent a draft paper … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, acwrimo, Browzine, reading | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

an ethics of analysis and writing

Posted on December 12, 2016 by pat thomson

How do you work ethically with material generated in an interview? I’ve been pondering this question recently as part of a more general think about ethical research practice*. Research ethics are covered in institutional forms – yes? Well no. The forms … Continue reading →

Posted in analysis, data analysis, ethics, Uncategorized, writing research | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

stress and the writing body

Posted on July 8, 2013 by pat thomson

There are suggestions that academic life is pretty stressful compared with other professional occupations (see The Guardian HE Network on this). And it is a truism to suggest that the process of doctoral and post doctoral education is stressful. It … Continue reading →

Posted in academic life, academic writing, computer, stress, stretching | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

making time to not think

Posted on February 25, 2013 by pat thomson

Much advice on academic writing suggests the importance of routines – daily writing, finding a good place to work, working for a set period each day. The point of routines is to create a sense of writing as habituated, as … Continue reading →

Posted in de Certeau, not thinking, slowing down, thinking, time | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments

writing by speaking – enter the Dragon

Posted on February 4, 2013 by pat thomson

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 , , , , | 8 Comments

writing the thesis from day one is risky

Posted on October 25, 2012 by pat thomson

I was reading a final draft of a thesis written by one of the doctoral researchers I was working with. I’d just started and the text was going along very nicely indeed until I reached the end of the first … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, dissertation, identity, literature review, thesis, voice, writing | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

sustain your writing – find a palate cleanser or ten

Posted on August 31, 2012 by pat thomson

We all know what a palette cleanser is right? We’re academics so we must have encountered the ubiquitous sorbet either in chilly reality or on one of those food porn tele programmes :)? Or we’ve been to a wine tasting … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, books, mental space, palette cleanser, reading, reflection, reward, theory | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

things they don’t tell you about writing

Posted on April 11, 2012 by pat thomson

a joint post by Inger Mewburn, the Thesis Whisperer, and Pat Thomson Did you plan to be a professional writer? Most academics we meet in our work don’t. What usually draws people to academia is teaching. When you think about … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 4 Comments