Category: Research/Writing

LSE’s research blog is running a series on the materiality of academic writing. I really loved this essay from Katie Collins. The summary reads: “n this feature essay, Katie Collins proposes that we shift our thinking about academic writing from building metaphors – the language of frameworks, foundations and buttresses – to stitching, sewing and piecing. Needlecraft metaphors offer another way of thinking about the creative and generative practice of academic writing as decentred, able to accommodate multiple sources and with greater space for the feminine voice. “

Reading this text made me realize how little attention we pay to the materiality of writing, perhaps because we all type on laptops that are imposed upon us by an employer or by budget constraints. I did come across a piece that I really enjoyed about writers and their favorite tools .

Addition: My colleague Frank DeBakker (@FrankdeBakker) has shared this pretty cool text on how writing is like surfing in response to my original tweet of this post.

Nice piece from Nature on how to recover from getting a paper being rejected. If I may offer my own bit of advice, there are three points that have been helpful to me:

1. Decide wether this is salvageable or whether it needs to become a book chapter.
2. If it is salvageable, then begin the rewrite by writing a mock letter to the review team. Reviewers are not stupid, so it is important to make mindful choices about which points to address and which to ignore.
3. In no case send the paper as is to another outlet, even if it is a lower tier journal.

I think that one of the most important skills for writers is to write from anywhere. This is not just about saving time. It is about shattering the myth that you need to be in some sort of perfect moment of inspiration to produce content. You do not. Writing is work, not inspiration. Love this story about how Cory Doctorow, one of the coolest sci-fi writers I know, has learned this skill.

I always tought I was a bad writer ause I did not outline. Recently I took Brandon Sanderson’s writing course online and I found out that this is actually a good thing (or at least a possibility). Its called discovery writing. Check out this thread on the writing stack exchange. I’d also encourage you to follow Sanderson’s class, even if you dont write fiction and *only* write academic papers. Playlist on Youtube here.

In my first ever address to the faculty and staff of IÉSEG School of Management, I focused my speech on what I called my invisible co-authors. All of the staff that make research possible in my business school and in universities across the world. Today I came across a beautifully written thread that really resonates with what I said at the time. If you are staff, but especially if you are faculty in higher education, I strongly encourage you to read it here. (Congrats on the thread @readywriting).