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.