'Perfection gets in the way of excellence' - Getting started and avoiding writers' block
I find it is very easy to let busy things stop me from doing important writing, or writing which is difficult.Academic writing requires considerable concentration to do well because it must be structured clearly and coherently. I cannot write when I am distracted by other things. When I write I use it as a process of 'thinking out loud'. I express my ideas in writing as part of my process for making them clear, because to write I must make my ideas precise.
When I write I always look at my text as 'working documents', which means that they are subject to change, either because I decide to change them, or because someone else advises me to change them. This gives me freedom to write, because I do not think that what I write on the first try must be 'perfect'. Instead I can write my ideas and later edit them to become better.
A common reason why postgraduate students do not write papers or their thesis is that they are afraid to write something which is not 'perfect', so they compromise by writing nothing. It is much better to take the 'working document' approach and get something on paper, which can then be improved.
I hope these suggestions help and I look forward to hearing what others think.
Dr Tim Ferris
Senior Lecturer
School of Electrical and Information Engineering
posted by Andrea Duff at
5:21 PM
4 Comments:
I liked your point about viewing everything as a work-in-progress, Tim. This is very liberating!
I find that writing a single sentence on a page gets me started.
By
Anonymous, at 5:36 PM
I agree that it is critical to let your thoughts flow onto the paper without trying to edit. I am a reasonably prolific writer now and am just about to do the 'serious edit' on my fourth book. I wrote the first draft of my PhD in less than five weeks.
When I write I try to let my creative mind communicate directly with my hands. I attempt to keep my critical mind at bay until it's time to edit. When I want to write efficiently I find that playing Mozart and burning a blend of the essential oils of orange and pine is very helpful.
By
Anonymous, at 9:56 AM
As a science writer, I was liberated from my procrastination by voice activated software - Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I have used this system for seven years now. The software just keeps getting better at understanding my voice and typing what it is that I am saying.
When I have to write - I often close my eyes and speak what it is that I need to say into the computer. It rarely comes out right the first time - but that doesn't matter. I just start again, trying to tell the same story from a different angle. Finally my words come together. This, of course, is followed by very serious editing to bring it back to a piece of writing that effectively communicates what it is I want to say.
By
Anonymous, at 11:59 AM
I also agree with Tim. I find that research degree students seem to have a view that their thesis is what their life's work is going to be judged upon and, as a consequence, live in fear that what they are going to write won't do them, or their research, justice. Of course, it is important, but it is only one part of a continuing contribution researchers make during their lifetimes. I think getting something down on the page, regardless of its apparent quality, and using this as a springboard for more refined thinking and writing, is a good way to go. I also think setting really tight timelines helps. None of this putting things off till there are two months over Christmas to attend to things properly. Take a four day long weekend and push on with it. The important thing is to get a finished draft.
By
Anonymous, at 2:55 PM
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