{"id":7201,"date":"2019-04-04T12:55:09","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T23:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/?p=7201"},"modified":"2019-04-04T12:55:14","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T23:55:14","slug":"throwback-thursday-10-secrets-known-only-to-academic-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/?p=7201","title":{"rendered":"Throwback Thursday: 10 Secrets Known Only to Academic Writers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post by Dr Anaise Irvine first appeared on Thesislink in March 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite all the writers who write about writing, there are still a \nfew things that I think we, as a community of writers, haven\u2019t admitted \nto each other. Some seem trivial. Some are embarrassing. And all have \nbeen secret\u2026 until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret #1: Typing speed matters.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether we\u2019re transcribing audio or just feeling inspired, a fast \ntyping speed makes a real difference to our productivity. We are very \ngrateful for Mavis Beacon, typing classes at school, and our years of \nexcessive screen-time. We secretly get a little rush when our fingers \nfly faster than we thought they could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret #2: Mental thesauruses are bad (see also: limited, not good, and, ah, another synonym).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many times can we write \u201cthus,\u201d \u201cfirstly,\u201d and \u201ctherefore\u201d before\n they become redundant? A lot, as it turns out. Even if we have good \nvocabularies, we don\u2019t always have the inspiration necessary to pick the\n right word at the right time. We hide the secret of our limited \nimaginations behind numerous visits to thesauruses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret #3: We don\u2019t fully understand every word in our own writing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We use a lot of complex and\/or technical terms. Sometimes we learn a \nword, incorporate it into our writing, and then forget what it means. \nPlease don\u2019t ask us about that word in our viva. Or at a conference. Or \nin casual conversation. Or ever, actually. Please.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret #4:We work best on screen. No, in hard copy. No, in Word. No, in Scrivener.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have spent quite a bit of time flicking between different modes of\n writing. We keep thinking if only we worked another way, we\u2019d be more \nproductive. So we try working another way, then realise we\u2019ve wasted \nlots of time converting to that other way, and it\u2019s no magic solution. \nWe have not learned from these experiences, and truly believe that the \none great mode of writing is waiting to be found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret #5: When a deadline looms, good nutrition is the first thing to go.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desk drawer M&Ms. \u2018Nuff said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret #6: We bribe ourselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the M&Ms, in my case. One per 100 words written, or per 2 \npages proofed (double-spaced). It\u2019s a system honed over many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Self-portrait during first draft revisions <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Secret #7: Grooming is optional.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On hardcore writing days, no-one is really going to see us. Maybe a \ncolleague or two, maybe a barista, but that\u2019s about it. On those days, \nit doesn\u2019t really matter if we display the odd loose hair, untucked \nshirt, or inexplicably crunchy hoodie. We also have slippers and\/or \nfluffy socks that live under our desks and don\u2019t get washed. Deal with \nit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret #8: We write stream-of-consciousness jibberish and intend to delete it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least I hope we do, because I\u2019d rather not be alone on this one. \nYou see, sometimes when I\u2019m really stuck, I write whatever I\u2019m thinking \ninto my thesis. Screeds and screeds of nonsense. I write it in all caps,\n so that I see it and (hopefully) delete it before I send the text \nanywhere. But it\u2019s pretty ridiculous. Actual extract: \u201cTHIS SECTION \nISN\u2019T WORKING, LA LA LA, I DON\u2019T KNOW WHAT I\u2019M DOING WITH THIS THEORIST \nAND MY EYEBROWS ARE ITCHY, OH NO, I DROPPED AN M&M INTO MY LEFT \nSLIPPER, NO NO NO, WHY ME, I THINK I MIGHT EAT IT ANYWAY???\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret #9: We sometimes forget to delete that jibberish before sending out our work.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

True story. I\u2019d rather not talk about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret #10: Our butts hurt.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, we\u2019ve crossed over into total honesty now. There\u2019s no going back.\n Butt pain! Yes! We sit in one spot for so long that it really doesn\u2019t \nmatter how comfy our chairs are \u2013 our posteriors feel inferior. Our \nrears sneer. Our cheeks freak. To the mysterious stranger in the office \nopposite my window: I\u2019m sorry that you had to see me shaking my lower \nhalf that one time. I could lie and say that Shakira had come on the \nradio, but we both know that\u2019s not true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Office chair, hour #1 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Office chair, hour #12<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat have I missed? Share your writing secrets in the comments.\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post by Dr Anaise Irvine first appeared on Thesislink in March 2015. Despite all the writers who write about writing, there are still a few things that I think […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6725,"featured_media":3941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[81,97,78],"class_list":["post-7201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-category-5","tag-just-for-fun","tag-motivation","tag-writing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/chair-12.jpg?fit=1864%2C2028&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p83npQ-1S9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6725"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7201"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7203,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7201\/revisions\/7203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}