Writers Group Workshop. Dr Rowena Murray University of Strathclyde

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Edward Garrison
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1 Writers Group Workshop Dr Rowena Murray University of Strathclyde

2 Strategies for the long term Writers retreat: off-campus, residential, all work in one room/not, non-surveillance, no /internet, with peer discussions of work-in-progress. Writers group: inter-disciplinary, meeting twice a month, for 90 mins., writing, goalsetting, with facilitator, to progress projects.

3 Purposes of writers group Making time to write. Providing pre-peer review. Taking the sting out of peer review.

4 What writers say: making time by the end of the [writers group] meeting, I had thought of so many things that I need to do that I began to panic about when to do them all. I was a bit envious when most of the others spoke of how they intended to set aside some time during the working day. That unfortunately is a bit of a luxury as far as I am concerned.

5 What writers say: pre-peer review At the very early stages of the writing process, the step between an idea for a paper and the actual publication is enormous. However, as the topic and themes are developed, target dates are set and initial drafts are subjected to peer review, the enormous step is transformed into a series of more gradual steps interspersed with landings or stages for review and reflection. The whole process becomes more manageable.

6 What writers say: peer review So what of the confidence that is necessary to produce a paper for publication? Here we have a problem of committing ideas and views to paper and exposing them to a wide audience. Furthermore, that audience will include people who have extensive knowledge of the subject of the paper and may disagree with the views expressed.

7 Underpinning principles Writing is a social act that benefits from discussion with peers. Feedback can be helpful at different stages in the writing process. Working in a group can motivate writers to initiate and progress writing projects. Goal-setting and monitoring help writers create and stick to their deadlines.

8 Invent your own set of principles Start with these principles. Discuss: add/cut/revise/invent. Make group s purpose explicit. Don t wait for general agreement! Develop consensus as you go along. Allow for differences. Agree the structure for meetings.

9 What writers say: getting started There are many obstacles to the writing process. These include priorities of work and home life, inappropriate conditions for writing and the inability to get started. The greatest difficulty for me personally is in overcoming the need to have the essay or paper fully researched, planned and a framework set out prior to starting to write.

10 Writing to prompts What writing [for publication] have you done, and what would you like to do [in the long, medium and short term]? 5 minutes writing In sentences Private writing -- no one will read it To be discussed in pairs/groups

11 What is a writing sub-goal? Specific content Specific length -- number of words. Specific time -- number of hours/minutes required to do the task. What can you write at writers group? What can you write between meetings?

12 Prompts for generating text Warm up prompts, e.g. 5 minutes taking stock and goal-setting. Generic prompts, e.g. The purpose of this paper is to This suggests that Journal prompts, e.g.? Questions, e.g. What do I want to write? In outlines, i.e. as well as headings. Revision prompts, e.g. Define other approaches.

14 A combined strategy Use both structuring and freewheeling. Recognising your preference, use different strategies for different purposes. Use a detailed outline to plan increments for your writing. Defining writing tasks first may make it easier to find time slots for them.

15 Checklist for writers groups Agree common purpose. Agree format. Initiate common activity: describe your writing projects to each other. Try working with facilitator -- time limits. Be flexible: adapt meeting times, agendas and formats to suit participants. Do writing at each meeting -- don t just talk about writing.

16 Checklist for writers group Discuss barriers to writing and ways of overcoming them. Discuss the clunky and chaotic stages in your writing. Give and receive feedback on writing. Rehearse arguments in brief discussions. Review experiences in six months. Don t try and do all of these in all meetings.

17 What writers say: still learning about writing I was very unsure of the writing process and was very nervous about committing to paper. I can remember the way in which my approach to writing changed as I read some of the theory on writing and adopted some of the ideas. I am now more confident of the structure and approach to writing an academic paper. However, I still have a long way to go.

18 10 ways to ensure you won t prioritise your writing 1. Open your at the start of the day and never quit it. 2. Keep your writing goals quite general. 3. Don t talk about your writing-in-progress. 4. Only seek feedback when you have a full draft. 5. Don t write unless you know exactly what you want to say.

19 ensure you won t prioritise writing 6. Wait till you re ready to write. 7. Don t bother defining sub-goals -- you know what you have to do. 8. Don t bother with the 5-minute warm up for writing -- you know what to do. 9. Always write in large chunks of time. 10. Try and find more time for writing.

20 References Carnell, E, MacDonald, J, McCallum, B & Scott, M (2008) Passion and politics: Academics reflect on writing for publication. London: Institute of Education. Murray, R (2002) Writing development for lecturers moving from further to higher education: A case study, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 26(3): Murray, R, Thow, M, Moore, S & Murphy, M (2008) The writing consultation: Developing academic writing practices, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 32(2):

21 Readings Murray, R (2009) Writing for academic journals, 2nd edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press-McGraw-Hill. Murray, R & Moore, S (2006) The handbook of academic writing: A fresh approach. Maidenhead: Open University Press-McGraw-Hill (chapter 7).

Writing the Personal Essay. Columbia College Workshop Callie Kitchen

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