Reframe Your Writing Standards
It’s okay if your writing process looks different from others’.
If you’re ready to move through academia with confidence and want someone on your team so you don’t have to feel so alone… I want to talk to you!
I work with higher education students to develop supportive strategies for navigating their graduate program with their mental health intact!
It’s easy to fall into the guilty spiral of, “I’m not writing enough.”
Or thinking, “I should be writing right now.”
That guilt takes away valuable energy that could be invested into your writing. Writing more doesn’t automatically mean you’re a great writer. Writing less doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer. You rob the world of your unique voice by thinking you’re required to follow a certain pace.
We all have a different approach to writing. Who cares if Debra or Bob have cranked out a dozen papers while you struggle just to get one done. Good for them. But you’re not Debra or Bob. You’re you. You have your own experiences and perspective. The sooner you let go of comparing yourself to what other people are doing, the sooner you can establish confidence and embrace your own writing process.
Writing isn’t just sitting at your computer and typing up words. Writing is also reading and thinking. Follow that research rabbit hole. Digest the articles that spark your interest. Let your thoughts simply flow.
Sometimes they’ll flow like running water and you have to race to your computer before your mind drifts to an irrelevant thought. Sometimes it’s a dripping faucet. Writing isn’t supposed to flow nonstop. Unlike Hamilton, you don’t have to write like you’re running out of time (unless you waited to write your class paper 12 hours before it’s due, in which case, godspeed friend).
Writing is taking walks, doing life, and listening to what others have to say. Go tend to your non-academic responsibilities. My best thoughts for my work come when I’m not thinking about writing.
Whether I’m doing the dishes, folding the laundry, or in the shower when I have no access to writing utensils. Then I hyper fixate on the thought, rush to rinse off the shampoo and soap suds so that I can run out in my towel, zoom past my needy cat, and wipe my damp fingers to type up the thoughts with spelling errors galore that even autocorrect can’t interpret.
However, pursuing a graduate degree means you’re learning the process to balance both consuming and creating knowledge. You can’t write if you haven’t read other arguments in your field. But you also can’t claim the excuse that you’re researching to put off the physical act of writing (don’t worry, I’m guilty of it too). You must put words down. Taking notes is a step forward. But the world needs your originality.
Start writing from a stream of consciousness for five minutes. It doesn’t need to be perfect. All that matters is that it exists. Otherwise, you have nothing to work with. Your work deserves to see the light of day instead of being stuck in your brain where no one else can access it.
If you’re like me and sometimes staring at the cursor on the document is too intimidating to know where to begin, go old-fashioned (cries in millennial). Get a notebook and pen. You can’t create your own voice and navigate how you want to sound in academia unless you have the courage to voice your own opinions. The best writing happens after it’s created.
If you’re looking for a community to write with…
My friend Dr. Sophia Walker and I launched The Academic Support Hub, a new, free community on Discord just for you: researchers who are looking for mutual support in a chill, friendly, neurodiverse-affirming environment. We have co-working spaces and channels for hanging out if you want to yap with someone.
Depending on what the community wants we’ll be offering workshops and write-ins down the road as well. We would love for you to join us! Join via the link at the button below.
Coming up in November is AcWriMo 2025!
Hosted by Dr. Katy Peplin and Dr. Kate Henry, in November they’ll provide a month of free resources to support your academic writing. Writing is a difficult journey, you deserve to have the resources and tools to help you succeed at your pace. Want these resources in your inbox? You can sign up for free via the link at the button below.
What does your writing process look like? Let me know in the comments!
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