10 Ideas for Building an Intentional Writing Practice in the New Year

As we approach the end of 2021, many of us will resolve to make changes in the new year. Is one of your resolutions to focus more intentionally on your scholarly writing in 2022? If so, here are 10 ideas to consider.

1. Read about the practice of scholarly writing. Helen Sword’s book Air & Light & Time & Space (Harvard UP, 2017) is a favorite of mine. I also enjoy reading Rachel Toor’s monthly column on writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

2. Listen to a podcast on writing. Over the last year, I’ve been listening to a couple of different podcasts on writing. Katie Linder’s retired podcasts The Anatomy of a Book and Think Write Revise offer many great strategies for writers. Most of the episodes are under 15 minutes or so—perfect when you need some bite-sized inspiration.

The other podcast I’m listening to is #amwriting. The hosts write trade fiction and nonfiction, so not every episode will feel like a good fit for academic writers. Still, I usually find one or two episodes a month that contain a few valuable nuggets. Just last week, I listened to a coaching call on how to write a nonfiction book in 12-months. The project management strategies they discussed would apply to most scholarly writing projects.

3. Engage in deliberate practice to improve your writing skills. Yesterday, I was reminded that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become exceptional at something. You’ll have approximately 5,800 waking hours in 2022; how many can you devote to becoming an exceptional writer? If you want a structure for your practice, consider working through one of these books in 2022:

• Becoming an Academic Writing: 50 Exercises for Paced, Productive, and Powerful Writing (SAGE, 2017)

• Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success (University of Chicago Press, 2019)

4. Track your efforts. If you are committed to engaging in deliberate practice or completing a particular project in 2022, create a system for tracking your progress and holding yourself accountable. You can find suggestions on creating and using a writing log here.

5. Join a writing group. Elsewhere, I have talked about the structure and benefits of writing with others. Can’t find a writing group near you? Join the waitlist for my spring 2022 Virtual Writing Accountability Group, a 12-week group coaching program designed to increase confidence, enhance productivity, and fine-tune the writing skills of academic professionals.

6. Go on a writing retreat. Creating space outside your normal routine is a great way to jumpstart a new writing project, make progress on one, or get a stalled manuscript back on track. You can participate in a sponsored retreat or plan your own.

7. Connect with a writing coach. In talking with faculty and advanced doctoral students, it is clear that despite everyone’s best intentions, academe as a whole isn’t well structured to mentor and grow scholarly writers. If you have sensed this gap in your professional development, a writing coach can help. Coaches help writers learn to manage projects and create space for writing. They also provide emotional support and valuable feedback on manuscripts in progress. If you’re curious about how writing coaches work, check out my earlier post on this topic.

8. Finish that revise & resubmit. Elsewhere I have written about the R&R as a commitment to advancing your work. Take journal editors at their word and submit your revised manuscript for reconsideration. If you feel like the journal may no longer be a good fit, find another home for the manuscript.

9. Craft the book proposal. If you have always wanted to write a book or feel like this is the next step you need to take for career advancement, make 2022 the year you develop your book proposal. In a recent blog post, I offered some insights on what to include and things to avoid.

10. Invest in a new tool to enhance your writing proficiency or productivity. This year, I purchased a subscription to Grammarly. I don’t tend to have a lot of serious errors in my writing, but I appreciate the tips that help me write clearer, more engaging prose. Like most academics, I’m long-winded, so I also value suggestions for writing more concisely. That said, the error detection in Grammarly is much more sophisticated than the built-in grammar checker in Microsoft Word.

Many writers swear by Scrivener as an alternative to a standard word-processing app for organizing large writing projects. I use Mendeley to organize source material and manage citations, but Zotero and Endnote are also popular options. What are the pain points in your writing process? Is there a tool that can help you manage it?

I’d love to hear how you are making space for writing and advancing your craft. So, let’s plan to connect in 2022. You can reach me at hello@tracylskipper.com.