Academic writing

Developing good habits for productive academic writing

There is no escaping the fact that as academics we need to write. The adage “publish or perish” remains a guiding concern for academic career progression. Although I would add the caveat that as precarious academic contracts have become the norm, it is now more than ever possible to publish and still perish in the academic job market. There is a myriad of reasons, beyond academic career development, why we need to produce outputs from our research. A few include the moral obligation we have to those who have graciously given their time, and the donors – often taxpayers – who have funded the work. Yet, academic writing is challenging and developing productive academic writing habits rarely comes easily. For neurodiverse academics, it can often feel like an almost impossible task. In my blog posts on writing, I provide reflections and approaches to developing productive academic writing habits. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I discovered the power of writing retreats and in 2021, I completed training to become a Structured Writing Retreat facilitator. I have run both in-person and virtual writing retreats. I also deliver bespoke training for junior academic writing. If you are interested in my work please get in touch.