Post on 27-Dec-2015
Making Writing a Successful & Enjoyable Experience
Kathryn Yorkston, Ph.D.ProfessorRehabilitation
MedicineUniversity of
Washington
The truth about writing
Travel is only glamorous in retrospect. (Paul Thoreau, travel write)
Writing is only glamorous in retrospect (Kathy Yorkston, Apprentice writer)
The truth about writing
Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go. (E L Doctorow)
Writing fosters learning about your topic
The truth about writing
Reading maketh a full man, conversation a ready man, and writing an exact man. (F. Bacon)
• Writing is mandatory for a scholarly career
The truth about writing
Writing is a dreadful Labour, yet not so dreadful as Idleness. (Thomas Carlyle: 1795-1881)
Writing must compete with other
activities
The truth about writing
Writing, at its best, is a lonely life. Organizations for writers palliate the writer's loneliness, but I doubt if they improve his writing....(Ernest Hemingway)
Writing is a solitary activity
The truth about writing
Writing is manual labor of the mind: a job, like laying pipe. (J.G. Dunne)
Writing is a craft requiring The Right Techniques The Right Tools
Writing is. . .
Not glamorous Fosters learning Mandatory for an scholarly career Must compete with other activities A solitary activity A craft requiring techniques & tools
Overview of this talk
Techniques Managing competing activities Finding the right collaborators
Tools (beyond the basics) Word Processor Tools Reference management Search large literature databases Personal Planner
Managing the Competition
• Transitions out of the exterior deadlines of student-hood• Deadlines imposed by students, clinical work, committees• Moving from deadline-driven to an integrated schedule
Scheduled Writing
During my writing time, I would rather do anything else. Writing is lonely, solitary work. Crises of confidence are common. Positive reinforcement is uncertain and delayed. When I think about being a “writer,” I imagine lots of positive feelings, however, when I actually write, it just feel like hard work. Beukelman, 1999
Schedule-driven writing
Write everydayFinish each day with 3 tasks to start the
next morningMeasure success by time not productLimit your writing time (maybe 2
hrs/day)Accept solitary (not social) nature of
writingAbandon perfection but accept progress
Finding the right writing partners
Know what you are getting intoAvoid binge writersPing pong writing styleExpect honesty not politenessOthers . . . .
Tools: Beyond the basics
Word Processor ToolsReference ManagementSearch Literature - Large
DatabasesPersonal Planner
Customizing a ToC
Customize style, e.g. APAInsert the right heading levels as you
writeLook at your ToC - Use it to organize
your writingShare it with our co-authors
Benefits of a Good ToC
Helps you organize your first draftIncluding it on the first page, orients
your collaboratorsAutomatically puts you in APA stylePrevents heading problems that are
red-flags to reviewers
Reference Management
Learn the basics of a program and then use it to: Save time Prevent reference errors (also a red flag
to reviewers)Advanced tip
Using Endnote to organize your article collection
Key word info
1.Yorkston KM, Klasner ER, Swanson KM. Communication in context: A qualitative study of the experiences of individuals with multiple sclerosis. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 2001; 10: 126-137 (file # 861 speech language cognition fatigue).
Search literature databases
Basics Get to know your library & librarian Use automated searches
Advanced tips Use well-structured Tables of Evidence
(Garrard J, 1999)
Tables of Evidence
Allow you to focus on what’s important to you
Tell a story if you read them in chronological order
Allow your students to help
Personal Planner
Develop a collection habitWork toward “a mind like water”
Get things out of your head Put them in a collection system you can
trust Let your mind do other things
Readings:
Allen, D. (2001). Getting things done: The Art of stress-free productivity. New York: Viking.
Boice R: Professors as writers: A self-help guide to productive writing. Stillwater, OK, New Forums Press, 1990.
Garrard J: Health sciences literature review made easy: The matrix method. Gaithersburg, MD, Aspen Publishing, 1999.