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| Photo by Galymzhan Abdugalimov | unsplash.com |
Welcome to our first post for 2014's Academic Writing Month!
For the whole of November, we're focused on academic writing of all kinds, and keen to encourage your productivity and progress.
It all starts in the first week of November with the first themed posts to this blog, 'Shut up and write' sessions, competition launches, and a Twitter livechat on Thursday 6 Nov to kick off this special month of activities! You can download the full calendar of events here: 2014 Academic Writing Month Calendar [.pdf]
If you’ve taken part before, you know the drill:
Get your reading done now, stock up on your favourite productivity snack, and cancel what you can! November is for writing, and writing a lot!
If you’re new to #LTUacwrimo here’s the deal:
La Trobe's Academic Writing Month (#LTUacwrimo for short) is a month-long academic write-a-thon that will happen every November. It's inspired by the amazing AcWriMo activity that happens around the world in November.
The idea is that you set yourself a writerly goal and get stuck in with all the information, advice, and support you’ll get from others taking part. The month helps us:
- Think about how we write,
- Form a valuable support network for our writing practice,
- Build better habits for the future,
- And maybe – just maybe – get more done in less time!
And if you can get a lot done in November – a busy time for us academics all over – think how easy it’ll be to get writing done the rest of the year!
So, here’s how you get involved….
There are 6 basic rules:
1. Decide on your goal. You might count words, hours put in or projects achieved – it’s up to you. But try and push yourself a bit.
2. Declare it! Sign up on the #LTUacwrimo spreadsheet and fill in the sections for what you’d like to achieve and keep us updated on your progress through the month. Being accountable is the key to this working for you. You need to feel a bit of pressure to get the work done!
3. Draft a strategy. Don’t start #LTUacwrimo without doing a bit of planning and preparation. Get some reading done, have a clear idea of the writing you want to do, and carve out time slots in your schedule to dedicate to writing and 'Shut up and write' sessions. Sort out whatever you’ll need to write, and get it done now! There won’t be time when November comes around.
4. Discuss your progress. OK, so being on Twitter and Facebook with us all day isn’t acceptable – you’ve got work to do – but checking in at certain times is important! We want to know how you’re getting on. What is working for you, and what isn’t? Do you need help? Do you want to share a writing triumph? We'll be using the #LTUacwrimo tag for our activities and conversations on Twitter.
5. Don’t slack off. If you push yourself, you’ll quickly discover the tips and techniques that work best for YOU, and that’ll save you even more time in the long-run.
6. Declare your results. It’s great to use the spreadsheet everyday (or as often as you can) to chart how you’re getting on, but even if you can’t do that, you MUST announce your results at the end of the month. Our writing community benefits not only from sharing in your achievements, but knowing what didn’t work, and being reminded that, at the end of the day, we’re all human!
This post draws from this entry at PhD2Published. Many thanks to PhD2Published for their leadership and support of #acwrimo activities every year!
Comments
I looked at what others had written on the spreasheet, esp. the plans, and then I had a good hard think about exactly what was going to be the most useful for me.