akbari how we write ebook

7/25/2019 Akbari How We Write eBook

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H O W W E W R I T E


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HOW

WEWRITE

THIRTEENWA

YSOFLOOKINGAT

ABLANKPAG

E

EDITEDBY

SUZANNECO

NKLINAKBARI

ApublicationoftheDEADLETTEROFFICEvia

punctumb

ooks

brookyn,n.y.


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xiiiSuzanneConklinAkbari

Introduction:WrittenChatterandtheWritersVoice

xxvAbouttheImages

xxviiWhoWeAre

1MichaelCollins

WildernessGroupTour

9SuzanneConklinAkbari

HowIWrite(I)

19AlexandraGillespie

HowIWrite(II)

25AliceHuttonSharp

TeCommunityYouHave,

TeCommunityYouNeed:

OnAccountabilityGroups

35AsaSimonMittman

TisWouldBeBetterIfIHadACo-Author

45JeffreyJeromeCohen

OntheNecessity

ofIgnoringTose

WhoOfferTem

selvesasExamples

Tableof

Contents


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59MauraNolan

How

IWrite(III)

73RichardH.Godden

Erran

tPractices

83Bruce

Holsinger

Cushion,Kernel,Craft

95StuartElden

WritingByAccumulation

107Derek

Gregory

Trave

llingTroughWords

119SteveMentz

WetWork:WritingasEncounter

131DanielT.Kline

Writing(Life):TenLessons


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IN

TRODUCTION

HOWWEWRITE

xiv

xv

conditionsofacademicwritingingraduatescho

ol.Michaels

thoughtfulengagementwithhisownexperienceofwriting

postedandrepostedonanumberofFacebookpagesledto

anoutpouringofpersonalaccountsofthedissertation-writing

years,bothfromthosecurrentlyinthetrenches

andthosefor

whomthoseyearsareverymuchintherear-viewmirror.What

emergedwa

saclearsenseofthediversityofwritingpractices

thatareout

there:theresnosinglerightwaytowrite,and

exposureto

thatrangeofpracticesmighthelpthosewhoare

intheproce

ssofmasteringacademicwritingto

feelmorecon-

dentintheirownabilities,mostofallbydemo

nstratingthat

suchmasteryisanongoingpotentiallylimitlesseffort.

LikethethirteenversesofWallaceStevenspoem,which

givesthisbookitssubtitleandepigraph,whatfollowsisthir-

teenindivid

ualyetrelatedpartsthatmakeupa

singlewhole.

Eachessayrefractsitswritersexperience,generatingaspec-

trumofperspectiveswheremuchcommongrou

ndappears

andmuchvariety.Tisishowitcameintobeing:inresponse

toMichaelCollinssblogpostandtheensuingwrittenchatter

(especiallyo

nFacebook),AlexandraGillespieandIwrotea

jointpost,generouslyhostedbyJeffreyCohena

ndhiscollab-

oratorsatth

eIntheMiddleblog,titledHowD

oWeWrite?

Dysfunction

alAcademicWriting.Iwasfascin

atedbythe

waythatthisconversationseemedtostrikeane

rveformany

readers,bothacrosstheblogsandonFacebook,

andtherefore

decidedtotrytondawaytogathersomeofthismaterial

tomakeitm

orereadilyavailable.Ibegantoask

colleagues

whetherthe

ymightbewillingtocontributesom

ethoughts

ontheirownwritingprocessforaveryshortvolume,having

http://ndtxt.com////wilderness-group-tour-phd-dissertations-

and-writingsupportaccountablity-groups/

http://w

ww.inthemedievalmiddle.com///how-

do-we-write-

dysfunctional-academic.html

heardfromanumberof

peoplethatsuchacollectionmight

be

usefulnotindescribinghowtowrite,buthowweactually

dowrite.

Basedoninputfromfriends,colleagues,andstudents,I

decidedthatwhatwouldbemostusefulwouldbeaveryshort

volume,withaboutado

zencontributorseachprovidingan

essayof20003000wor

ds.Wonderingwhatsortofrange

ofcontributorstoinclude,Iaskedgradstudentsandrecent

graduates,whosaidthatwhattheyfoundparticularlyuseful

wereaccountsbymoreexperiencedwritersnotexactlythe

sameasseniorscholars,

asthiscouldalsoincludethosewith

amplewritingexperienc

ebeforethePhD,orwhoconcurren

tly

writeinothermodes.Accordingly,thecontributorsrangefrom

graduatestudentsandrecentPhDstoseniorscholars,working

intheeldsofmedievalstudies,arthistory,Englishliterature,

poetics,earlymodernstudies,musicology,andgeography.All

areengagedinacademicwriting,butsomeofthecontributo

rs

alsopublishinothergenres,includingpoetryandction.Sev-

eralcontributorsmainta

inaveryactiveonlinepresence,includ-

ingblogsandwebsites;allarecommittedtostrengtheningt

he

bondsofcommunity,bo

thinpersonandonline,whichhelpsto

explaintheeffervescent

senseofcollegialitythatpervadesth

e

volume,creatinglinkage

sacrossessaysandextendingoutward

intothewideworldofw

ritersandreaders.

Tedissertation-writingroundtableImentionedtookplac

e

on25May2015;Michaelsblog

postappearedon26May,and

thejointblogpostbyAlexandmeappearedon30May;another

participantintheroundtable,AliceHuttonSharp,alsowroteup

herreections,publishedonherblogon5June.AsIwritethis,

https://theaccidentalphilologist.wordpress.com////

the-community-you-have-the-community-you-need-building-

an-online-accountability-group/


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IN

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HOWWEWRITE

xvi

xvii

readingovertheessayssubmittedbythecontributorssome

stillindraft

form,someappearingindraftasblogpostsoverthe

lastfewweeksitismid-July.Inotherwords,thisbookisthe

productofconversation,isitselfpartofaconversation,emerging

fromarapid

lyproliferatingseriesofshort-formwritingonthe

topicofhow

wewrite.Onecommentarygenerat

edanother,each

onecharacterizedbyenormousspeed,eloquence

,andemotional

forthrightness.Tiscollectionisnotabouthowtowrite,buthow

wewrite:un

likeaprescriptivemanualthatpromisestounlock

thesecretto

efficientproductivity,thecontributo

rstalkabout

theirownwritingprocesses,inalltheirmessy,frustrated,exuber-

ant,andawkwardglory.

Asnoted

above,thiscollectionhasgrownbyaccretion,which

isanunconventionalbut(Ithink)interestingorganizational

strategy.ItwasinspiredbythelanguageofaFacebookpostby

MichaelCo

llinswherehelinkedtotheguestblogpostthat

hadjustbee

npublishedonIntheMiddle,usingthemetaphor

ofthepebbleandthelandslide.Michaelintroducedhislinkto

thepostbyAlexandmethisway:

Respec

tedtenuredscholarswhobingewrite,whose

writing

practicesarewrongjustasmanygradstudents

aree

xcepttheyarentwrongatall.Teid

eathatwriting

ispersonalandnoonewritingpracticeiscorrectand

agood

writingpracticeisbuiltonself-knowledge.Tis

sprung

fromthatblogpostIputuplastweek.Posting

someth

ingonablogiskindoflikepushingapebbledown

amountain.Oftenitjustclattersdownall

alone.But

sometimesotherpebblesjoinanditbecom

esawonderful

landslideandherethemetaphorbreaksdown.ButIguess

Ibring

thisupbecause:weareneverwritin

gintoavoid

evenif

itsometimesfeelsthatway.Writingisasocialact.

Youneverknowhowthatpebbleisgonnabounce.

Spurredonbythiscomment,IaskedMichaelifwecouldusehis

pebblethatis,hisblogpostastherstessayinthegro

up,

followedbymeandAlex,andthenothersinroughlytheorder

thattheyparticipatedin

theconversation,startingwithAlic

e

HuttonSharpsblogpost,whichalsoemergedfromthe25M

ay

roundtable.TeTableofContents,accordingly,demarcatesthe

ripplesinthepondthat

arosefromthepebbleofMichaelsblog

post:contributorswereinvitedbecausetheyhadcommented

ononeoftheposts,orb

ecausetheyhadrepostedalinkwith

additionalcomments,orsimplybecausetheconversationha

dled

totheirvirtualdoor.

IbeganbyaskingJeffreyCohen,AsaMittman,MauraNolan,

andRickGoddentomakecontributions,allfourofwhomhad

respondedininteresting

waystotheinitialblogposts,andtheir

responsesandcommentsled,inturn,tootherpotentialcontrib-

utors.Jeffreysessayfocu

sesonhowhisperspectiveonwriting

practiceshaschangedsincehewrotea2011blogpostonthis

topic,anditsownaccretivestylemovingfromthe2011po

st

toaseriesofwritinglockdownstatusupdatesfrom2013,and

nallytoareectionfro

mthepresentmomentisamicro-

cosmoftheaccretivestyleofthisvolumeasawhole.Asawrites

abouttheprocessofcollaborativewriting,aformatthathehas

particularlyembracedin

spiteofthefactthatthebureaucratic

administrativeprocesses

aroundhiring,tenure,andpromotionin

humanitieseldsaregenerallyill-equippedtoevaluatecollab-

orativework.AsaandI

haveverydifferentwritingstyles,as

we

discovered(!)whenwewroteanarticletogetherlastyear;his

essayherehashelpedmetounderstandhowhelpfulitisforall

ofustohaveafrankdiscussionaboutwritingpractices,toshare

ourcommonexpectationsandidiosyncrasies,beforeembark

ing

onjointprojects.

MauraNolanandRickGoddenhavecontributedessaysthat

bringouttheirexperiencesofteachingwriting,bothtograd

uates


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IN

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HOWWEWRITE

xviii

xix

andundergraduates,andthewaysthatindividuallifeexperi-

encesespeciallyastheychangeovertimeinectourown

writerlypractices.BruceHolsingerandSteveM

entzcontribute

essaysfrom

theperspectiveofwriterswhoared

eeplyengaged

inacademic

writing,butwhoalsowriteinothermodesBruce

beingaprolicwriterofction,andSteveinteg

ratingpoetry

intohisliteraryproduction.Stevealsodrawsouttheintersection

ofblogging,seascapeenvironments,andlonger-

formacademic

writing.StuartEldenwhoseregularblogging

andwriting

abouthisworkinprogresshavenourishedmyo

wnwriting

practiced

escribeshisaccretiveoraccumulativewritingstyle,

whichinvolvesputtingtogetherlittlebitsofwritingintobigger

forms.Like

Stuart,DerekGregorydescribeshisworkinprogress

throughblogging,andhaswritteninthepastabouthispractice

ofintegratingoralandwrittenformats,usingth

eactofspeaking

publiclytodevelopawrittentext.DanKlinelaysoutaseries

oflessonsthatemergefromhisownwriterlylifethatis,the

waysinwhichhiswritingprocesshasevolvedashislifehas

takendifferentturns,andthewaythatwritingh

asservedasa

meanstoprocesstheexperienceofchangeover

time.Troughout,

theaccretivemodeofwritinghasunderlainthe

overalldevel-

opmentoft

hiscollection,justasithasunderlainthewriting

practiceofmanyofourcontributorsasdescribedinJeffrey

andStuarts

essays,andinthefoundationalmet

aphorcoinedby

MichaelCo

llins.Tislandslidehastakenona

dynamicofits

own,madeupofmanyfallingpebbles.

Buttobecleartheaccretivemodeofwritingisnotthe

onlywayto

write.Myowncontribution,below,

describesa

methodthatcouldbeaptlydescribedasputoff

writinguntilyou

cantavoiditanymore,thenhideyourselfandd

onothingelse

untilthewritingisdone.Iwouldnotrecomme

ndthismodelto

others,notjustbecauseitseemslikeaterribleideabutbecause

Iamand

havealwaysbeenashamedofit.T

isfactbecame

cleartomeonlywhenaninsightfulcommentontheITMblog

postdrewattentiontotheself-deprecatingqualityofwhatI

hadwritten,tothepointofself-contempt.Tecommentelic-

itedmoreconversationonthisself-contemptfrombothAlex

andme,asfollows:

8June2015

10:50AM

AlexandraGillespiesaid...

Onself-contempt

well,itsrealright?Forwhateverreason

Idontexperienceitwithrespecttomywritingpractice

and

neverdidbutheapsofpeopledo(andIexperienceit

in

otherplacesinmyacademiclife).AlmostallmyPhDsuper-

viseesexhibitsome

degreeofself-loathingabouttheirw

rit-

ingpractice.Itsquitesomethingtoseesomeoneasesta

b-

lishedasSuzannee

xpressthefeelinghonestly,andyetlightly.

Telightnessiscritical:thedifferencebetweenmyyoun

ger

andolderselvesself-contempt,isthatwhenyoungerit

was

cripplinglypainful.Nowitsmore,wrylyamused.Ind

my

pathologiesendearingIlikethem,bcIlikemyself(m

ost

ofthetime).Suzan

nehastospeakforherself,butitseems

tomethatshedoesnttakeherself-contempt,anymore

than

shetakesherself,overlyseriously.WhenIsaypractice

patienceandempathywithyourself,Idsay,forgodssake

dontbeatyourselfupforbeatingyourselfup,ifyoucan

helpit,bcyoucant

helpit!Chillaxaboutbeingtotallynot

chillaxed!Andotherparadoxes.

11:01AM

SuzanneAkbarisaid...

Onself-contempt:

itisreal,andIthinkmanyofushaveit.

Alexisrightthatit

canbecripplingearlyonandbecom

es

lesssoovertime,butwestilltendtohideit,evenasestab-

lishedscholars.Ite

merges,Ithink,fromtheveryhabitsof

mindthatmakeus

goodscholars:wejudge,almostcon

-


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IN

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HOWWEWRITE

xx

xxi

stantly,themeritofworkthearticleswe

readforresearch,

thebookmswereadforapress,abstractsubmissions,

studentworkandsonaturallywejudgeourselvesaswell.

Tisis

agoodthing,becauseweholdourse

lvestothesame

highst

andardweholdothers.Butwhilewithamsreview,

atenurele,orastudentpaper,webeginb

ypraisingthe

positivebeforeturningtocritique,werarelystoptopraise

ourselv

es.

(Comm

entsfromITMblogpostHowDoWeWrite?

Dysfun

ctionalAcademicWriting,8June2

015)

Ireproduce

thesecommentsinfullbecausetheycapturethe

avorofthe

exchange:welearnfromoneanother,withcommen-

taryfeeding

backtothewriters,allowingusinturntomovetoa

newposition.MaybeIwillstoptopraisethepo

sitive,nexttime;

maybeIwillstopassumingthatthisterrible,im

maturewayof

writing,whichIlonghopedIwouldgrowouto

f,isadefect.And

maybethev

alueoftalkingfranklyaboutourow

nexperiences

ofwritingw

illnourishothersinourcommunitiesasmuchasit

nourishesourselves.

Alaterco

mmentinthesamethreadbrought

outtheseren-

dipityofourconnectionstooneanother,andth

ewaysinwhich

frankconversationsabouthowwewritecanenr

ichbothourown

practiceand

ourcommunities,notonlyonthegroundbutalsoin

theonlineenvironment:

10:13A

M

AnneliesKampsaid...

Tispo

streachedmebywayofmysister.I

aminIreland;

sheisinNewZealand.Tewondersofsoc

ialmediaallowed

hertoconnectmetothisdiscussion.Andashaveothers,

Idlike

tothankyouforpursuingthisthoughtaboutbeing

dysfunctionalandhowproductiveitcanbe!

Itoohavehadtolearntowritemyownway.Inrecent

weekstherehasbeenaseriesofshortarticlesbyction

writersoutlininghowtheywrite:inthemiddleofthenight,

rstthinginthem

orning,onlywithsustenance,always

witharitual,never

witharitual.Andsoon.Tatgaveme

suchheart.Despitehavingproducedafewbooksanda

numberofarticlesthatIamproudtocallmyown,Ihave

oftenstruggledwit

htheideathatIshoulddoitbetter.

Colleagueswhoadvisemetheyareuplateatnightafter

thechildrenhaveg

onetobed,orrstthinginthemorning

beforetheircommutetocampus,havealwaysleftmew

ith

alingeringsenseofbeingsomehowinadequate.Tatsnot

howIwork;butIdowork.AndIloveitwhenthatwo

rk

ofwritingisdoneinawaythatfeelsrighttomebecause

thatcreatesthecon

ditionsformyideas,mylittleuniqu

e

contribution,totak

eform.

Isharethesekindsofstorieswithmystudentsasthey

strugglewiththeir

ownsenseofhowtobegin.Somany

resourcesdonot,tome,giveanysenseoftheembodied

author.Iwouldlovetoseeresourcesowfromthisdiscus-

sionandIdbedelightedtosupportitinanyway,shape

orform.Tankyou

both,andtoallwhohavecontributed

comments.Oh,andthanksTinaforconnectingme:-).

Here,acomplexwebof

connectivityunderliestheonlinecon-

versation:thewriterand

hersister,whodirectedhertotheblog;

thecolleagueswithwho

mshesspoken,recountingtheirexp

e-

riencesofhowtotthe

workofwritingintotheinterstices

of

domesticobligation;herstudents,whoalsostrugglewiththeir

writingprocess,andwithwhomthewritershare[s]herow

n

historiesofwriting;the

writersoftheblogpost,andthosew

ho

havecommented.Teantipodeansweepofthewritersopen

ing

phraseIaminIrelan

d;sheisinNewZealandismirrored

inthegeographicalsweepoftheessayscollectedhere,ranging


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IN

TRODUCTION

HOWWEWRITE

xxii

xxiii

fromMicha

elCollinssNewfoundlandtoDanKlinesAlaska,

throughCanada,theUS,andtheUK,andpassingthrough

diverseland

scapesandseascapes.

Onestrik

ingcommongroundintheseessays

istheirfocuson

notjusthow

wewrite,butwherewewrite.Tisismanifestedin

severalofth

eillustrationsthataccompanytheessays,andalsoin

thevividaccountsofthephysicalenvironmentinwhichwrit-

ingtakesplacesometimesinapeaceful,almostsacredspace;

sometimesinthemidstofdomesticchaos,orin

anyoneof

manytransitoryorliminalspaces.AsAliceSharpputsit:Ihave

writtenontrains,IhavewritteninTimHortonssurrounded

byirtingpre-teens,Ihavewrittenatthediningroomtable.

Iwritethisnowontheporchofarelativeshom

e.Evenwhen

writingtake

splaceinabusyenvironment,surroundedbyirting

pre-teenso

r(inSteveMentzsaccount)withamonth-oldson,

red-facedandscreamingonyourshoulder,ther

eseemstobe

aninnersolitude,astillcenter,thatsustainsthe

writingprocess.

Paradoxically,itiswhenwearetogether,united

inastrongsense

ofcommunity,thatweareabletondtheinnersolitudeand

senseofstabilitythatenablesthewritingprocess.

Itcomesasnosurprise,therefore,thatthephysicalenviron-

mentwhere

writingtakesplaceisasiteoffecun

dity:forJeffrey

Cohen,writingtakesplaceinthetheformernurseryofour

house,aroo

maboutthesizeofawalk-incloset;forSteve

Mentz,swim

mingtimeisalsoakindofwriting

time,sothat

Writingem

ergesfromputtinglittlebodiesincontactwithvast

seas.Ourw

ritingspaceisasitewherethecreativeimagination

doesitswork,wherewegivedeniteformtoargument,toclose

reading,tocreativeanalogy,totheaffectiveturn

ofphrase.We

arealone,whenwewrite;butwhenwefeelalon

e,wecanalso

feelparalyzed,hopeless,unabletobegin.

Tatswh

atthisbookisfor:notfeelingalone.Tewritten

chatterofthevariousessayscollectedhereismeanttostim-

ulatemoreconversationabouthowyouwrite,reiteratingand

reinscribingasharedsenseofcommunity.Tepebblesthat

followfromMichaelCollinssinitialinterventionthrough

the

variegatedshardsandfragmentsthatspilledoutinitswake

makeupalandslideinw

hichyou,Reader,arealsoinvolved.

Wearelookingforward

tohearingyourchatter,spokenor

written,inpersonoronline,andlisteningtoyourwritersvo

ice.

SuzanneConklinA

kbari

NorthTruro,July


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HOWWEWRITE

xxviii

xxix

afriend,andthreedigitalexhibitionsofimages

frommedieval

manuscripts.Shewasfailingtowritethelastfewparagraphs

ofanessayowedtoacolleague.Asusual.

ALICEHU

TTONSHARPisanAndrewW.Mellon

Foundation

PostdoctoralFellowintheHistoryandClassical

StudiesdepartmentatMcGillUniversity.Sheiscurrently

writingabo

okabouttheoriginsoftheGlossaOrdina-

riaonGene

siswhilepursuingnewresearchontheuseof

reasonasadeninghumancharacteristicintwelfth-and

thirteenth-c

enturytheology.Sheblogsveryoccasionally

attheaccide

ntalphilologist.wordpress.com.

ASASIMO

NMITTMANisProfessorofAr

tHistoryat

CaliforniaS

tateUniversity,Chico,authorofMapsandMon-

stersinMedievalEngland(2006),co-authorwithSusanKim

ofInconceivableBeasts:TeWondersoftheEastin

theBeowulf

Manuscript(2013),andauthorandco-authorofnumerous

articlesonm

onstrosityandmarginality.Heco-editedwith

PeterDendletheResearchCompaniontoMonstersandthe

Monstrous(2012),andco-directswithMartinFo

ysVirtual

Mappa.CAA,ICMA,Kress,Mellon,American

Philosophi-

calSociety,andNEHhavesupportedhisresearch.Heedits

bookserieswithBoydellandBrill,andisfoundingpresident

ofMEARC

STAPAandafoundingmemberof

theMaterial

Collective.

JEFFREYJEROMECOHENisProfessorof

English

andDirecto

rofInstituteforMedieval&Early

Modern

StudiesatG

eorgeWashingtonUniversity.Heb

logsat

inthemedievalmiddle.comandafullbiomaybe

foundat

jeffreyjerom

ecohen.net.Hispunctumprojectsin

cludeAnimal,

Vegetable,Mineral:EthicsandObjects;InhumanN

ature;Burn

AfterReading;andObjectOrientedEnvirons.

MAURANOLANteachesmedievalliteratureatUC-Berkeley,

whereshealsodirectsBerkeleyConnect,acampus-widepro

gram

inwhichadvancedgraduatestudentsmentorundergraduates

(www.berkeleyconnect.b

erkeley.edu).Herrstbook,JohnLydgate

andtheMakingofPublic

Culture,waspublishedbyCambridgein

2005.Shehaspublished

widelyonChaucer,Gower,Langland,

Lydgate,Maitland,Adorno,Aquinas,andarangeofessayso

n

medievalaesthetics,beauty,style,andsensation.Hercurrent

projectfocusesonsensorypoeticsinChaucerandGower.

RICHARDH.GOD

DENisaPostdoctoralTeachingFellow

atTulaneUniversity,andhaspublishedinpostmedievalandNew

MedievalLiteratures.He

isalsocoauthorwithJonathanHsy

of

AnalyticalSurvey:Enco

unteringDisabilityintheMiddleA

ges.

Hiscurrentworkfocuse

sontheintersectionsbetweenthep

olit-

icaltheologyoftheneig

hbor,temporality,andDisabilityStudies

inmedievalromance.H

ealsoworksonthealliancesbetwee

n

DigitalHumanitiesand

DisabilityStudies.Hehaspresented

numerouspapersthroug

houttheUSonrelatedsubjects,and

hisresearchhasbeenfundedbytheNewcombCollegeInstitute,

TulaneUniversity,andW

ashingtonUniversity.Heisafounding

memberoftheGrammarRabble.

BRUCEHOLSINGE

RteachesintheDepartmentofEnglish

andCreativeWritingat

theUniversityofVirginia.Hehas

writtentwohistoricalnovels,ABurnableBook(winnerofthe

FisherPrize)andTeInventionofFire(HarperCollins/William

Morrow),bothsetinlatemedievalEngland.Heiscompleting

ArchiveoftheAnimal:Science,Sacrice,andtheParchmentInher-

itancefortheUniversity

ofChicagoPress,andhasjustbegun

aVeryShortIntroductionforOxfordUniversityPressonthe

subjectofhistoricalction.Hereviewsctionandnonctio

n

fortheWashingtonPostandhaswrittenforSlate,TeNation,

andothernationalpublications.


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HOWWEWRITE

xxx

xxxi

DANIELT.KLINE(P

hD,IndianaUniversity)isProfessor

andDirectorofEnglish

attheUniversityofAlaska,Anchorage,

wherehespecializesinmedievalliterature,literarytheory,and

digitalmedievalism.Hiscurrentresearchconcernschildren,vio-

lence,andethicsinlatemedievalEngland.Recentessaysinclude

contributionstoLevinasandMedievalLiterature(DuquesneUP,

2009)andTeTextsandContextsofOxford,BodleianLibrary,

MSLaudMisc.(Brill,2011).HeeditedtheContinuumHand-

bookofMedievalBritishLiterature(Continuum,2009),Digital

GamingRe-Imaginesthe

MiddleAges(Routledge,2014),and

co-edited,withGailAshton,MedievalAfterlivesinPopular

Culture(Palgrave-Macm

illan,2012).

STUARTELDENisProfessorofPoliticalTeoryandGeog-

raphyatUn

iversityofWarwickandMonashW

arwickPro-

fessoratMonashUniversity.Heistheauthorofvebooks

includingT

eBirthofTerritory(UniversityofChicagoPress,

2013).Hehasbeeninvolvedineditingseveralco

llectionsof

HenriLefebvreswritings,andhaseditedorco-

editedbookson

Kant,Fouca

ultandSloterdijk.HisnextbookisFoucaultsLast

Decade(PolityPress,forthcoming2016),andhe

isnowwork-

ingonitsprequel,Foucault:TeBirthofPower.Herunsablog

atwww.progressivegeographies.comandhopestoreturnsoon

toaproject

onterritoryinShakespearesplays.

DEREKGREGORYisPeterWallDistinguishedProfessorand

Professorof

GeographyattheUniversityofBritishColumbiain

Vancouver.EversinceTeColonialPresent:Afghanistan,Pales-

tine,Iraq(2004)hiswritinghasfocusedonlatermodernwar,

andonthewaysinwhichmilitaryviolenceboth

ontheground

andfromth

eairhasandhasnotchangedsince1914.Heis

currentlycompletingtwonewbooks,TeEverywhereWarand

WarMaterial,andhislatestresearchconcernsth

etreatmentand

evacuationofcombatantandciviliancasualtiesfromwarzones,

19142014.

STEVEME

NTZisProfessorofEnglishatSt.JohnsUniversity

inNewYorkCity.HeistheauthorofAttheBottomofShake-

spearesOcean(2009),RomanceforSaleinEarlyM

odernEngland

(2006),and

co-editorofRoguesandEarlyModer

nEnglishCulture

(2004)andT

eAgeofTomasNashe(2013).Hehaswrittenarticles

onecocriticism,Shakespeare,andmaritimeliteratureandcurated

anexhibitionattheFolgerShakespeareLibrary,LostatSea:

TeOceanintheEnglishImagination,15501750(2010).His

book,Shipw

reckModernity:EcologiesofGlobalization,,is

forthcomingin2015fromtheUniversityofMin

nesotaPress.


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MIC

HAELCOLLINS

HOWWEWRITE

2

3

anddetail-orientedworkshopping.Tiswasveryuseful,but,

again,holdingregular,timelymeetingsbecameachallenge.All

membersofthisgrouparenolongerfunded,andsomustpiece

togetherincomesthroughmultiplelow-paying

jobs,academ

ic

orotherwise.Further,th

erecentstrikeofTAsandCourse

InstructorsattheUniversityofTorontodrewallofourtime

and

energyaswefoughtabitterbattletoraiseourincomeatlea

sta

littleclosertothepovertylineitcurrentlyfallsshamefullyand

dramaticallyshortofaswefoughtfortherstrealraisesince

2008.Testrikewaslengthy,bitter,withanintransigentand

insultingadministration

,anditssmallsuccesseswerelimitedand

disheartening.Assuch,thiswritingworkshophasyettoholda

meetingin2015,andthe

futureofthegroupisuncertain.Many

ofusarebadlydemoralized.Someareconsideringdropping

out

oftheprogramandth

eseare,Isayveryearnestly,brilliant

scholarswho,inajustw

orld,wouldbetheguidinglightsof

a

halfdozenEnglishdepartmentsadecadehence.

Alloftheseexperiencestellmetwothings.First:thereis

agreathungerforthese

groups.Teyarealocusofhopefor

seniorPhDcandidateswhoarefeelingdesperateandadrift.

Second:thesegroupsarenotparticularlyeffectiveandareoften

short-lived.

Ihavesometheoriesastowhyboththingsareso.

Tinkaboutagraduatestudentstrainingtheupper-year

undergraduateseminar,thecourse-basedMastersdegree(andit

isalmostalwayscourse-

based;atthispoint,theMastersthesis,

whereitstillexists,issomethingofanantediluviansurvival),the

PhDcoursework,studyingforasetofcomprehensiveorquali-

fyingexams.Teseareallhighlystructuredandhierarchical,but

noneofthembearresem

blancetodissertationwriting.Mypoint:

graduatestudentsaretrainedtoworkwellwithinstructures.

Graduateschoolismostaccessibletopeoplewhothriveinstruc-

tures.Itself-selectsforthatsortofpersonbuttheinstitutions

hopeisthat,uponcandidacy,thegradstudentwillbecomea

Writingadissertationisoftenveryisolatinganddepressing,and

anylightin

thewildernessisapreciousthingto

thosewhowan-

derinthedark.But,asameansofensuringIgo

tthemajorityof

mycrapdone,weektoweektoweektoweek,it

didntworkwell

forme.

Asecond

groupmetonlyafewtimesbeforemeltingaway.

Tiswasmo

reofawritinglock-inthananaccountability

group.Afellowcandidateinmydepartmentem

ailedawide

rangeofherpeers(myselfincluded),askingifw

edbeinterested

inbookingaroominourdepartmentforthepu

rposesofagroup

writingsessionnoconversation,nodistractions,justthree

hoursofngersgoingclick-clackonkeyboards,followedbya

decompressionsessionatanearbypubforanyinterested.Tis

wasbrilliantIrespondedverywelltothisformat,andIgota

hugechunk

ofwritingdoneattherstsuchme

eting.However,

italmostim

mediatelybegantocomeapartatth

eseamsthe

groupwaslarge,andthequestionwhenshallw

emeetagain?

becameanunmanageableone.PersonAcantdothisday,Person

Bcantdothattime,andsoon.Twomoresessio

nshappened,

asfarasIm

aware,eachonewithfewerattendees.Telastone

Iwentto,Ishowedupabout20minutesafteritwasmeantto

havestarted

,andtherewasnoonethere.Schedulingconicts

andthedem

andsoflabouroutsideof/beyondthedissertation

(demanding

labournecessaryfortenuoussurvival,Imuststress)

torpedoedthisgroup.

Athirdgroupisstillextant,althoughdorman

t,andismore

ofawriting

workshop.Terearevemembers,andintherst

sixmonthsofthegroupsexistencewetriedtom

eeteverysix

weeksorso

(itwassometimessevenoreightweeks).Afew

daysbefore

ameeting,twoorthreepre-selected

peoplecircu-

latedachap

terdraft,anarticledraft,orsomeothersubstantial

pieceofacademicwriting.Temeetingbeganw

ithsocialtime

(again,thishasagreatvalueinandofitself,and

Ineverthink

ofitaswas

tedtime).Itwouldthenmoveontofairlyintense


21/93

MIC

HAELCOLLINS

HOWWEWRITE

4

5

monthsofwritingleadintomonthsofrevisionwhereagood,

nished,inthebagchapterwillreasonablytaketwosemesters

tocomplete,ifnotmore

.

Testructureofthesystemhassetusuptofailithastaught

ustoworkandwritein

oneway,andthenaswitchisippedand

weareexpectedtowrite

andworkinaradicallydifferentway,

onewehavehadnopreparationfor,notrainingin,nofamiliarity

with.Mostnewcandida

tesdontevenhaveaclearideaofwhat

adissertationlookslike,howitsstructured,howitsbuilt.For

alloursmarts,itsanuncommongraduatestudentwhoread

sa

fewdissertationsbefore

embarkingonthewritingofone

and

certainly,itsararersupervisorordepartmentwhosuggestssuch

anactiontotheyoungP

hD.Tisispartlytodowithhowthe

dissertationseemsnottomatter.Itsabizarregenre,aone-off,

neithertermpapernormonograph.Onceyouhavewrittenyour

dissertation,youwillneverwriteanotherdissertation.Youo

nly

passoncethroughthisp

articulargrinder.

Tisisonereasonwhyaccountabilitygroupsfail:theyare

attemptstoreassertthe

structureofagraduatecourse,but

everyoneinthegroupis

fumblinguninformednovice,and,in

anycase,courses,asweknewandexperiencedthem,arenot

usefulmodelsfordissertationwriting,becausedissertations

are

little-understoodobscur

ities.

Teotherreasonthesegroupsfailisalsostructural.Inshort:

itsthemoney.Graduatestudentsliveaprecariousexistence

well

belowthepovertyline;inordertopayrentandbuygroceries,

mosthavetotakeonextrawork,havetopiecetogetheraliv

able

income.Icanttellyouthenumberoftimesanaccountability

grouphasmeltedawaybecauseschedulingmeetingsbecame

impossibleduetomultiplejobs,academicornotitshappened

twicetomealone.

Tesolutionstoboth

oftheseproblemsseemobvioustome.

First:thetrainingtha

tgraduatestudentsreceive,priorto

candidacy,needstoberetooledsothatitinculcateshabitsand

verydifferentkindofperson,apersonwhothrivesinavastopen

unstructuredplane.

Isuppose

thetheoryisthat,fromthemomen

tofcandidacy,

theaspirant

PhDwillbeself-structuring,havingexistedwithin

structuresforsolong.Butitsprettyclear:form

ostofus,when

themouldisremoved,weslopeverywhere,distressinglyamor-

phous;weattempttoattainastructure,butmostofusdonot

havetheabilityorresourcestomaintainthosea

ttempts.Tightly

controlledp

anicbeginstocreepin.

Tewritingoraccountabilitygroupisoneattempttocre-

ateandmaintainstructure.Itsanattempttoreintroducethe

structureof

courseworktothedissertation,toforcetheblobthat

isthecandidateslifetogrowafewbones.Asetgroupofpeople

haveregularmeetings,withdeadlinesforproducingwork;atthe

meetings,th

atworkisdiscussed.Itcertainlyloo

kslikeaclass.

But,asEric

Hayotpointsoutinhisstraightforw

ardandsensi-

bleTeElem

entsofAcademicStyle,thepracticeo

fprofessional

academicwritingbearsonlyapassingresemblancetothekind

ofwritingtaughtandmodeledingraduatecour

ses:

NooneIknowwritespublishableessaysin

threeweeks,

muchlesswhensimultaneouslyworkingononeortwo

othere

ssaysoverthesametimeperiod....Tewaythings

workn

ow,avisitorfromMarsmightreasonablyguessthat

thepurposeofthersttwoorthreeyearsofgraduatework

istotrainstudentsinawritingpracticedesignedtogener-

ate75pagesorsooverthreeorfourweeks.

AsHayotrightlysays,thekindofresearchan

dwritingexpe-

riencereceivedupuntilthemomentofcandidacydoesnottrain

studentstoawritingpracticewheremonthsofresearchleadinto

EricHa

yot,TeElementsofAcademicStyle:WritingfortheHumanities.

(NewYorkandChichester,WestSussex:ColumbiaU

P,),.


22/93

MIC

HAELCOLLINS

HOWWEWRITE

6

7

andSocialSciencesprofessorsastheyembarkonbookprojects?

Ifnot:whynot?Ifso:howcanweimprovetheirmarketing

to

reecttheirutilitytoo

underingjuniorscholarsintheliberal

disciplines,juniorscholarswhocanproducebeautiful,grammat-

icalprosewithoutasecondthought,butwhocantseemto

nish

thatstupidfuckinglife-ruiningchapterdraft?

Second:institutionalsupportneedstoberadicallyreimag

ined.

Writingadissertationis

meanttobeafulltimejob.Itneedsto

bepaidlikeone.Tereisnomysteryhere.PhDcandidatesdo

nothavethetimeandenergytocompletedissertationsontime

becausetheyaredistractedbyextremenancialandmateria

l

challenges.Icantstress

thisenough.Wearedemoralizedan

d

exhausted,likeanyotheremployeeswhoareoverworked,un

der-

paid,anddemonstrably

unappreciatedbythemostpowerful

withintheUniversity(iftheyactuallyappreciatedusasthey

claimtodo,theywould

payuswhatwereworth).Alostgenera-

tionofshould-beschola

rsisformingaroundthisproblem.Fixit,

anddissertationswillge

twritten.

rhythmsofprofessionalacademicwriting.Grad

uatestudents

needtobefamiliarizedwithhowalargeintellectualproject

movesfrom

rstideathroughtonishedschola

rlymonograph.

Perhaps,onceuponatime,theMastersthesisw

asusefultraining

inthis,butthisisnolongerthecase,asMastersdegreeshave

becomepurecourseworkatmostinstitutions.

Withoutsuchchanges,promotingwritinggroupsand

accountabilitygroupsismerelytheinstitutionpassingitsedu-

cationalresponsibilityontothegraduatestuden

tswhoarethe

samestuden

tsinneedofthateducation.Itislikeexpectinga

rstyearG

reatBooksliteraturesurveytobeself-taughtbythe

undergraduateswhohaveenrolledinit.

PerhapsP

hDcourseworkneedstoberadicallyreimaginedto

teachhowp

rofessionalacademicwritingpublic,publishable

scholarlywritingisdone.Perhapsdissertation

writinggroups

shouldhave

facultyshepherdswhoattendmeetingsandsetor

createappro

priatestructuresandgoalsforthegroup.Perhaps

thisisarole

thatdissertationsupervisorscantakeoninwhich

case,suchdutiesneedtobeformallylaidoutas

partoftheterms

offacultym

embersemployment.

Anotherpossibility:mydepartment,English,hasmandatory

PedagogyandProfessionalizationclassesinthe

secondand

fourthyears

ofthePhD,respectivelyperhaps

adissertation

writingclassinthethirdyearisinorder,where

,attheend

ofthesemester,eachstudentwillhavewrittena

chapterdraft

throughastructureofescalatingclassassignments(which

canthenbe

adaptedtothewritingoftheremainingchapters).

Academicw

ritingcoursesexist,but,atleastintheHumanities,

atleastinm

yinstitution,theyseempoorlyattended.Tereisa

sense(perhapsincorrect)thattheyteachmoreb

asicwritingskills

tostudentsprimarilyinSTEMeldswhomaybedecient

inthem.Tesenseisthattheyteachthekindofskillsaliterary

scholar,philosopher,orhistorianmasteredquite

sometimeago.

DoanyoftheseclassesteachthewritingpracticesofHumanities


23/93


24/93


25/93


26/93

SUZANN

ECONKLIN

AKBARI

HOWWEWRITE

14

15

withwhatI

hadlearnedfromTayler,andasafa

cultymember

atToronto,continuedtoteachthethree-partessayinmy

undergraduateclassesbutnotinmygraduate

classes.Icouldnt

imagineinh

abitingtheautocraticpersonathatwouldberequired

toputgraduatestudentsthroughtheexperienceIhadhadin

Taylersclasses;besides,thepeanutbutterjarof

ginis,alas,no

longeranen

d-of-termoption.

Masteringthethree-partessayrstasstudent,andthenas

instructor

gavemeahighdegreeofcondenceinmyability

towrite,atleastinshortforms.Ihadtheopportunitytogain

experiencewithlonger-formwritingthroughextendedseminar

papers,whichwasauseful(butnottransformative)experience.

Atthattime,ColumbiaMAstudentswereobligedtoidentify

oneseminarpaperpertermashavingspecialstatus.Tispaper

couldbelon

gerthantheusualseminarpaper,uptoabout20or

22pages,andwouldbepassedonfromtheinitialinstructortoa

departmentallyappointedsecondreader.Teexercisewasamod-

eratelyusefulone,inthattherequirementtothinkofwritingin

thelongerform(notaslongasanarticle,butlo

ngerthanausual

seminarpap

er)askedustothinkbeyondtheusuallimits,andto

imagineastilllongerformofwritingthatmigh

tlieahead.

Inadditio

ntothetraininginwritingthatcam

efromTay-

lerscourses,Ibenetedenormouslyfromhavinghadthegood

fortuneto

ndmytopicearly:inthersttermoftheMA(in

1988),inacourseonMedievalAllegory,Iwrote

apaperonTe

TripartiteN

arratoroftheFirstRomandelarose:Dreamer,Lover,

andNarcissus.Itwasalousypaper,butitspreo

ccupationwith

visualexperience,mythography,andwhatIwou

ldlatercall

structuralallegorybecamethecoreofwhatbecamethechapter

onGuillaum

edeLorrisinmydissertationandultimately

inthemonographthatIpublishedin2004.

WhenIs

tartedwritingthedissertation,Iwasencouragedas

IstillencouragemyownstudentstobeginwiththematerialI

knewbest.Accordingly,therstchapterIwrotewasontheopti-

calallegoryofGuillaum

esRose.Itwasntaverygooddissertation

chapter,anditsstillthe

weakestchapterinthebook;butitwas

theveryheartofthewh

oleproject,thepiecefromwhichall

theotherpartsemerged.Icanremembersittinginacafin

our

neighborhoodintheearly1990s,thinkingabouttheRoman

dela

rose,reectingonthetw

ocrystalsatthebottomofthefountain

ofNarcissusandthewaythatwhitelightwouldberefracted

in

them.AsIthoughtaboutthepassage,Ipeeredintothesur-

faceofthestoneintheringIwaswearing,andlookedatthe

differentsparksofcolor

thatashedintosight.IfeltlikeIw

as

motionlesslyseeingtheobjectofthought;thatifIonlylook

ed

hardenough,Iwouldunderstandhowthepartsoftheargument

relatedtooneanother,a

ndIwouldseetheshapeofthewhole.

Inretrospect,thatwasaself-indulgentandprobablysilly

experience.Butitwasabsolutelycentraltomywritingprocess.

Teprotractedperiodofsuspension,readingandthinking,d

oing

otherthingsteaching,lookingafterchildren,etc.were

necessarytosetthestageforthedissertationwriting,which

immediatelytookonar

hythmofitsown.Icouldreliablywrite

onechapterperterm,an

dattheendofthreeyearspost-eld

exams,thedissertationwascomplete.Icannotemphasizeth

is

pointoftenenough:the

paceofwritingwasnotbecauseIama

disciplinedwriter,becau

seIamtheoppositeofthat.ButId

id

havethecondencetob

elievethatthewritingwouldcome

when

itwasready,andIpushedhardtogettothepointwhenthe

wordswouldberipeandreadytofallonthepage.

Tesamefrustrationandsenseofdeferralmarkedtheyea

rs

leadinguptotheultima

tepublicationofthebookthatemerged

fromthedissertation.O

ntheadviceofoneofmyco-superv

isors,

Iputthedissertationasideafterthedefense.Inretrospect,this

maynothavebeengood

advice,becauseIfounditverydifficult

toreturntothisproject

afterafewyears,readytorestructureand

reviseitintomonographform.Ontheotherhand,thelengthof

timethatseparateddissertationandmonographnineyears


27/93

SUZANN

ECONKLIN

AKBARI

HOWWEWRITE

16

17

tendencytobedistracted.Ispendwaymoretimewantingto

writeandnotndingm

ywaytoitthanIdointheactofwriting.

Butwhenitshappening

,theresnothinglikeit.

Howcanthisstorybe

usefultoothers?Maybe,justmaybe,by

lettingthosewhoarestilllaboringinthetrenchesofthedisserta-

tionknowthatthereare

manydifferentwaysofexperiencing

the

creativeprocessbecau

seitis,atleastinpart,acreativeproc

ess.

Academicwritingisbasicallysimple,practical,methodical,steady

work;exceptwhenitisnt,whenitsinsteadambitiousandexciting

andoverreaching.Icant

imaginehavingdedicatedsomuchof

mylifetothisworkwith

outtherewardsofthissecondaspectof

academicwriting.Sowh

atIwouldliketosay,tothosewhoare

nowwritingtheirdissertationsandfeelingfrustratedwiththeir

ownprogress,lackingco

ndenceintheirabilitiestocarryout

theirprojects,is:

.Areyouabletobeadisciplined

writer,whoputsdowna

coupleofhundredwordsorevena

wholepageeverymorning?Ifso,Godblessyou,youareon

eof

theluckyones.Tatsyourprocess,anditsaremarkablysane

and

productiveone;Ioftenw

ishIcouldworkinthatway.

Butifyoundyourse

lfthinkingaboutmanydifferentthings

atoncethechapteryo

ushouldbewriting,andtheconference

abstractthatsduenextweek,andtheguestlectureonOvid

youwillgivenextmonth,andthebabyyouhavetopickup

fromdaycareinafewhoursmaybeyousimplyarethatsort

ofthinker.Ifso,embraceyourprocessandcelebrateit,because

youwillbeabletocreatetheimpressionofremarkableproduc-

tivitythroughthemeansofwhatissometimescalledStructured

Procrastination.Ifthechapterisntcomingalong,writethe

conferenceabstract,eventhoughitsnotdueforanotherweek;

iftheabstractisntcomingalong,writethelecturethatscom

ing

upnextmonth.Youprocrastinate,avoidingdoingthetaskyou

shouldbedoingbydoin

gadifferenttaskthatyoualsohave

to

do.Andtheillusioniscreatedthemagnicentillusionof

beingabletodoatreme

ndousnumberofthings.

mayhavegiventheworkthatwasultimatelypu

blishedagreater

degreeofm

aturityandcohesivenesswouldhaveotherwise

beenpossible.Andthetensionthatexistedduringthatperiod

betweenthe

workthatIwasnishingup(SeeingTroughthe

Veil)andthenewworkthatIwasdeveloping(w

hatwould

becomeIdolsintheEast)wascertainlyveryprod

uctive.

Writinga

secondbookwasverydifferentfromtherst,in

severalways.Terst,andmostimportantdiffe

rence?Iknew

thatIcould

writeabook,becauseIhaddoneit;thismadeit

easytobecondentthatIcouldwriteanotherone,andtheonly

questionwa

swhatshapeitwouldtake.Tatshapepreoccupied

meonandoffduringtheperiod19952008,mostintenselyin

200507,afterpublishingSeeingTroughtheVeil,nishingacol-

lectionofessaysonMarcoPolo,andnallyturn

ingcompletely

tothetaskofwritingIdolsintheEast.Ihadinitiallyconceived

ofthebook

asseparatedintochaptersfocusedo

nindividual

booksorauthorsonthemodelofSeeingTroughtheVeil

butgraduallycametothinkoforganizingitthe

matically,which

isamuchm

oredifficultshapetocontrol.Aswiththeearlier

project,therewasakindofepiphanicexperiencethatcamesoon

beforethem

ainpartofthewritingperiod:Iwaswalkinghome,

shortlybefo

remeetingafriend,andsuddenlysawclearlyhowI

wantedtoconnecttheconceptoforientation,understoodina

polysemous

way,tothetheoryofOrientalism.S

oIstoppedon

thestreetan

dscribbledsomenotesoncardinaldirectionsand

howidentitymightbeconceivedofinspatialterms.TatAha!

momentwa

scrucialtomywritingprocess.Afte

rthatmoment,

itwasamatterofshuttingmyselfupinmyoffice,nottalkingto

anyone,eatinglunchovermykeyboard,andjusttypingoutthe

wordsasIh

eardthem.

Again,itsoundspretentiousandmagical,and

completely

implausible.Butthatswhatmyexperiencehasbeenlike.And

itiscrucialnottolosesightoftheenormousfrustration,long

periodsoftheinabilitytobeproductive,andpainfullyacute


28/93

19

image

IonlywritewhenIhaveto.Becausereasons.Itsjustthewa

y

Iwrite.

Iusedtoinventthenecessityinhaveto.Howwillyou

fundthefourthyearofyourDPhil?askedmygraduatesuper-

visorinOctober1997.Iwas23,freshfromanundergraduate

degree;IhadlittleLatin

,lessGreek.(Haha!IhadnoGreek.)

IhadntreadmuchEnglishliterature,cometothinkofit.

Iwillnishinthreeyea

rs,Itoldher.Good,shesaid.

AndbecauseIhadsaidit,Ididit.Well,sortof:byOctober

2000mythesisexisted

notgreat,butfullyfootnotedatleast.

Togettothatpoint,Ineededimmediatedeadlinesaswell

asdeep,energizinganxiety(fearIwouldnotkeepmyword,

fearIwoulddisappoint,fearIwouldrunoutoffunding).I

gavemyrstyearMStqualifyingpaperataconference:high

pressurebutgoodfun.A

fterthatIscheduledconference

presentationsfortheres

tofthethesis.Teresnothinglikethe

prospectofgivingapapertofamousacademicstomakeyou

writeawholechapteraboutearlyprintingonthetrainfrom

OxfordtoGlasgow.

Now,bythetimeIbo

ardedthattrain,Ihadseenhundreds

ofearlyprintedbooksandIhadadatabasefullofnotesabo

ut

them.Ihadsomesuper

OHPTs.Ievenhadsomethoughts

writtendown.Tisisbecausemyadvisorswouldleavefear-

EarlyBookSocietyConference,July,organizedbythelovely

MarthaDriverandJeremySmith.

Anowdefuncttechnology,rememberedfondlybyelderlypeople.

AlexandraG

illespie

HowIWrite

:TeauthorsavataroftheHoneyBadger.

ReectedinHalfaFlagonbyOliviaBeaumont,

reproducedherebycourtesyoftheartist

(https://www.etsy.com/shop/beaumontstu

dio)


29/93

ALEXA

NDRAGILLESPIE

HOWWEWRITE

20

21

mongeringnotesinmypigeonhole:comeover

forcoffeeand

such.Terrifying.Iwouldresponddefensively,w

ith5000words.

Butitwastheconference-goingthatwasmostfruitful.Tothis

day,Idoall

thewritingthatreallymatterstomeontheeveofa

talkorwhileIamtravellingtodeliverit.

Gadding

aboutalsogaveaproductiveshapetomyacademic

life.Imade

friends.IrealizedhowmuchIneededcommunity.I

joinedsocieties,startedcollaborations,committedtopublications,

appliedforlibraryfellowships,organizedaconference,andtook

onabigloadofteaching(myfavoriteinterlocutorsarealways

students).

Teendo

fOctober2000came,andIdidhav

eathesisready.

Butsomeho

wIalsodidnot.Teargumentseem

edabitwrong,

andIdidnothavetimetoxit,becauseIwasoccupiedwithall

thoseother

necessities.

SoIstalled.Iworkedontheotherstuffformo

nths.Eventually

oneofmygraduateteachersaskedthequestionIwastooscaredto

askmyself:Alex,whenreyougonnahandthatthangin?

Shameis

evenmoreproductivethanfearforme.Iwent

straighthom

eandrevised80,000wordsin19days.Igotabout

threehours

ofsleeppernight.Towardstheend

Iwassotired

thatIhallucinatedaratonacanofsoupatSainsburys.Tere

hewas:and

thenohdear!Norat.TatwaswhenIdecidedit

reallywastimetohandthethangin.

Noneofthiswashealthy,butitwaskindof..

.great.Ihadbeen

thinkingaboutproblemswithmythesisforsixmonths.Solu-

tionsemergedinanexuberantrush.Iwrote300

05000wordsa

day,includingsubstantialnewsectionsthatIlaterpublishedver-

batiminPrintCultureandtheMedievalAuthor(Oxford,2006).

MyadvisorswereAnneHudsonandHelenCooper,andtheywereunfail-

inglygenerousineveryway.

Tosew

hoknowhimwillrecognizetheTexantwangofRalphHannaIII,

forwhoseencouragementIamthankful.

Anyway,thatwasthen.NowIamolder(obviously).Vari-

ousexperienceshavetau

ghtmethatfearandanxietyareless

necessarytomethanIoncebelieved.Myprofessionalposition

isnolongerprecarious.Ihavetenure,researchfunding,brilliant

students,gloriouscolleagues.

Butmoreaccepting

,middleaged,andextremelyprivi-

legedIstillmaintainthepatternsIestablishedasagraduate

student.Mytimeiscom

pletely,deliberatelylledup.Iamu

p

tomyteethinteaching,supervising,grantwriting,collaborative

projectmanagement,commissionedessays,reviews.(Ihavesome

principlesthatguidemyselectionofactivities:(1)Remember

therat!Leavetimeforsleep.(2)Prioritizekidsandpartner.

(3)Avoidassholes.)

WhenIcansqueezetimeoutofmyschedule,Ireadandthink.

Iinictmythoughtson

membersofmyresearchlab.Ivisit

archives,usuallyjustfor

adayortwo.Iscribbleideasdownina

notebook.Icontributetl;drcommentstoFacebookthreads.

AndthenIwritebutonlywhenIhaveto.Aweewhile

ago,Iwrote6000wordsinsixhours,soIcouldsendthemallto

MauraNolan.Tiswasalot,evenforme.ButMauraNolan!

Idwrite6000wordsforMauraanyday.

Whatistobelearned

fromthis?Imnotsure.Tisessayis

verymuchaboutme(me,me,me).Iofferitmainlybecause,in

arecentFacebookconversation,youngercolleaguesexpresse

d

theirbeliefthatallsucc

essfulacademicsi.e.thelucky

oneswithjobsandtime

topublishweresteady-as-she-goes,

300-words-a-daypeople

.Well,notme.

IncludingSuzanneConklinAkbari,whowithMichaelCollins,ITM

,and

myfellowcontributors

tothisbookcreatedthespaceforthisdiscussion.

SoshecouldrespondtomypaperfortheDigitalPremodernSymposium,

May,hostedbyClaireWatersandAmandaPhillips,withhelp

from

SeetaChagantiandCo

linMilburn.Tankstothemall:Ihadablastand

gotabookchapterout

ofit!


30/93

HOWWEWRITE

22

Isuppose

myadviceaboutwritingisnotactu

allyaboutwriting.

Itsmoreaboutbeing:

Learnwhoyouare,andthenbethatmore,insteadofthink-

ing,alw

ays,thatyouaremeanttobeless.

Begrateful,ifyoucanbe.

Practicepatienceandempathywithyourselfandothers.

(However,doreservealittlehostilityforassholes.)

Youareokay,anditwillbeokay(orelseitwontbeokay,

andthatwillbeokaytoo).Onceyoutruly

believethat,

writing

andallmannerofthingswillbewell.

Idonotsaybegratefullightly.Terearethingsinm

ylifeforwhichI

amfarfromgrateful.ButIamgratefulforwhatis.Iamallgood!And

soarethepeopleIlove.Ilearnedalotaboutthis(rathertomysurprise)

fromhttp://thework.com/(h/t:thewonderfulAndre

aBonsey).

Itispossibletodistinguishassholesfrompeoplewho

arejusthavinga

littletizzy.Assholesaretheonesdumpingonpeople

underandaround

them(butneverabovethem).Teyseemtobeinalotofpain,buttheir

paintak

esanuglyanddestructiveform.Beempathetic;thatwillallow

youtoseethattheirassholeryisnotaboutyou.Butd

onotwasteyour

emotion

alenergyonanasshole.Anddobearinmindthatmanyofus

haveinternalizedothersassholerysocompletelythatweareassholesto

ourSelf,whichmakesusespeciallyvulnerabletothe

assholeOther.Some

ofmycolleagueshaveatteringlycomparedmyownapproachto

assholes

withthatofthehoneybadger(asinhttps://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=rwHMgYjg).Certainlywhenitcomestoassholes,itisbest

nottogiveasingleshit.

TepoetKateCampwrotethosewordsdownformeonascrapofpaper

andgavethemtomeasfarewellgiftwhenIleftNew

Zealandin.I

carrieditroundinmywalletuntilInishedtheDPhil,whenIpassedit

toafriend.Butittookmeanotherdecadetounderstandwhatshemeant.


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youraveragegraduateresearcher.Weevenhave

sociallivesand

takevacationstoseeourfamiliesorgooncamp

ingtrips.Westill

procrastinate.Wedonthaveperfectworkingmethods,andwe

allhavedifferentapproachestohowandwhenwegetourwork

done.Tesecretisthecommunity.

Tiswasnottherstaccountabilitygroupanyofushadtried,

andourpreviousexperiencesshapedthewayweorganizedour

system.We

hadallparticipatedinonce-a-week

accountability

meetingsforourrespectivedoctoralyearcohorts,butthesefell

apartinthe

faceofschedulingandspacechallenges.Turning

toemailrem

ovedthevaluableface-to-facesocializationofthe

weeklycoffeemeetings,butallowedmuchmore

frequentcom-

munication.Idontthinkanyofusexpectedthe

grouptobeas

durableasithasbeen,butmaximizingexibilitywasonekeyto

itssuccess.Inaddition,thefreedomofouraccountabilitygroups

formatmeansthatitcanworkinconjunctionw

ithothergroups,

whetherarrangedbyanadviseroraccordingtoresearchinterest.

Ourgrou

pwasbornattheendofaroughday,whenIwas

fourmonthspregnantandhadjusthadadifficu

ltmeetingwith

acommitteememberabouthowmuchworkIh

adlefttodo.

Iboughtan

ewnotebookandpentosoothemy

troubledsoul,

wenthome,anddrewupanaspirationalplanformaximumpro-

ductivity.(Imalwaysdrawingupaspirationalplansformaximum

productivity

.)Ithenannouncedtomyhusband

thatIneeded

someoneto

keepmeaccountabletoit.

Tatsan

excellentidea,hesaid,anditshou

ldntbeme.So

Iemailedtw

ofriends,andfoundthattheywere

insimilarruts

withtheirownresearch.

Overthe

courseoftheevening,weexchangedmessages

aboutwhat

formourprogramshouldtake.Id

rstenvisioneda

schemeinw

hichmyfriendskeptmestrictlyaccountabletomy

self-improvementplan,likecruelcoaches.However,astheyboth

wantedtobenetfromthegroup,butbeings

anehadno

similarall-e

ncompassingschemes,wedecidedu

ponasystemof

sharingourgoals,inwhichgoalscouldbedenedhoweverthe

senderliked.Tisadded

reciprocity,strengtheningthecomm

u-

nityweweredeveloping

.Tepurposeofourprojectwasthu

sto

supportallthreeofus,ratherthanjustmyownanxietyman

age-

ment.Weconsideredusingthechatwindowingmailtoset

goals

forindividualworksessions,butourtimesofworkproductivity

didnotlineup,sending

ustoadailymodelandouremail.

Tislastpointwasfortuitous,atleastforme.Idontthink

my

participationinawork-sessionmodelcouldhavesurvivedthe

whirlwindEuropeanresearchtripIsoontook,orthemonth

sof

intermittentpostpartum

work.Sometimeswedorelyonchat

togetthroughaparticularlyslowafternoonordrainingproject,

andtheimmediatesupp

ortiswelcome.Wehavegottenbet-

teratknowinghowmuchworkitisreasonabletoexpectfro

m

ourselvesinasingleday

(oneofourearlyhopesforthegrou

p),

andourcommunityisevenstrongerthanitwasbefore.Regular

goal-setting,evenwithoutacommunity,helpsyouknowhow

muchyoucanachieveforthedayandshowsyousteadyprogress

towardscompletion;the

benetofthegroupmaynotbethatit

keepsyouaccountabletoyourspecicplan,butthatitkeepsyou

accountabletotheprocessofmakingaplan.

StartingaGoalsGroup

Insettingupagroup,th

erstquestionis,ofcourse,choosin

g

yourteam.Ithinkthree

peopleisanidealnumber,asitallowsfor

diversityofopinionwithoutbeingunwieldy(andtheresalw

ays

abackupwhensomeoneistraveling).Wehavefoundthatour

friendshipisstronger,th

ankstoourgoalsgroup,butthatmight

notbethecaseifwedid

nthavecompatiblepersonalitiesand

concerns.Itisalsoimpo

rtantthatyouworkwithpeoplewit

h

whomyoucancomfortablydiscussproblemswhenyouaren

t

gettingwhatyouneedfromthegroup(moreonthatbelow).


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29

adviceonthosegoals,andwhengoalsareachieved,weceleb

rate.

Iwouldrecommendpro

tectingthissupportivecommunityby

explicitlystatinganexpectationofcondentiality,suchthat

chal-

lengesdiscussedwithinthegroupstaywithinthegroup.

CheckingOut

Eachcommunityhasits

owncustoms;ourscomesfromam

is-

reading.Oneeveningm

yhusbandwaslookingovermyshoulder

whileIsentmyevening

email,titledFridayGoals,andthought

itreadFridayGoats.

Hrm,hethoughtto

himself,theyreexchangingpictures

ofgoats.

(Letusconsiderthefactthathewouldnthavefounditsur-

prisingifwewere.)

Assomeonewhoisin

deedfondofdairygoats,Irecorded

theconversationinmyemailandsentalongapictureofababy

Nubian.NowtheFrida

yGoathasbecomeourmascot,sen

t

alongincelebrationwhentheweekisdone,andsignalingthe

endofaseriesofgoals.

Tisleadsmetosomeadvice:youshouldtaketimeawayfrom

yourwork,andtheaccountabilitygroupcanbebothahelpand

ahindrance.Whenyou

meetonceaweekforcoffee,theme

eting

eventuallycomestoanend.Emailsrarelydo.Notneedingto

schedulemeetingsmakesthegroupworkforanyschedule,but

thoseschedulesdonotalwayslineup.Onememberofmyg

roup

triestokeepherweeken

dswork-free,whileItrynottoworkon

Sundaysbuttruedisconnectioncanbehardwhenyourem

ail

ispinging.Muchofthisisthefaultofcontemporarycommu-

nicationculture,andnotthegoalsgroup,butitissomethingto

discuss,andmakesurey

ourfellowgroupmembersknowthat

therewillbetimeswhenyouarenotcheckingyouremail.T

en

turnyourphoneoff,and

enjoyyourtimeaway.

Ifyouthink

yourmostimmediatecolleagueswillmakeyoumore

anxious,ormorecompetitive,thenmyadviceis

tolookfurther.

Youmayalsowanttoconsiderhowbroadyou

wantthedis-

ciplinaryspreadofyourgrouptobe.Mygrouphastwoliterary

scholarsand

meahistorianandmanuscriptspecialist.Some-

timesthisisalittlelonely,asmygoalslistslook

soverydifferent

fromtheothers.Ontheotherhand,Ineverhav

etoworryabout

feelingcompetitiveaboutmywork.

Anotherquestionwhensettingupsuchagrouponceyou

havedeterm

inedyourmembersandyourmetho

dofcommunica-

tioniswh

atconstitutesagoal.Weinterpret

itquitebroadly:

itincludese

verythingfromgoingtothegym(thisisneveronmy

list),toweddingplanning,togettingthecolicky

babytotakea

nap.Tismeansthatourdailyachievementsre

ectthediversity

ofresponsib

ilitiesandactivitiesinourlives(alw

aysamotiva-

tionbooster)andhelpsuskeepouracademicgoalsrealisticand

achievable.

GettingW

hatYouNeed

Itmaytake

afewweeksormonthsbeforeyourworkinggroup

isrunningsmoothly.Whiletherstmessagesw

illlikelybefull

ofenthusiasm,youwillalsoneedtoworkoutth

edynamicsof

thegroupandsettheboundariesforhowmuch

helporadviceis

tobegiven.

Somepeoplereallyliketogiveadvice;somepeople

areproneto

beingpushedaroundbyotherpeop

lesadvice.Its

importanttoworkwithpeopletowhomyoucansay,Ijustwant

toshowyou

mylistformyownaccountability,anddontneed

anyadviceo

nit.Ontheotherhand,youmayw

anttoaskyour

peerstokee

pyouhonestabouttheamountofw

orkyoucan

reallyachieveparticularlyifyouarepronetomanaginganxiety

bydevelopingunreasonableto-dolists.Mygrou

psprimarypur-

viewischee

rleading:wesetgoals,sometimesweofferverymild


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32

theExcelsp

readsheetonwhichItrackedmyword-countgoals

andtheirrelationshiptoreality.)

Bylearninghowtobreakmyprojectintosmall,achievable

piecesthrou

ghbothmytranscriptionworkand

thegoalsgroup,

Ilearnedho

wtobreakalong-formatacademicworkintoman-

ageablestag

es.TetechniquesIusearemanyandvariedloose

journalinga

boutanacademicproblemforfteentotwenty

minutes,sketchingoutvisualmapsofmyargum

ent,outlining,

draftingthe

shittyrstdraftthatAnneLamotthasmade

famous.Writinggoalsisitselfastageofwriting

,andlistingmy

intermediatetaskstothegoalsgroupgivesthem

aweightand

legitimacytheymightotherwiselack.Indiscussingmywriting

progresswithfriends,Ivelearnednewtechniqu

esandIhave

developeda

goodsenseofhowmuchtimeIwillneedforeach

task,allowin

gmetoschedulerealisticbingesof

dailywriting.

Ihavealw

aysbeenawriter.ButformanyyearsofwritingI

dependedonperfectconditions:animmaculate

desk,theprivacy

ofanempty

roomorlackingthese,thepanicofprocrastination

andthelonelinessofanall-nighter.WhenIgav

eupmydeskto

makeroom

foracrib,Ipanicked.WouldIevernish?WouldI

resentmybaby?(Myownmother,writinganes

saylikethisone,

hadcomplainedoflosingherofficetomakemy

nursery.)With

thegoalsgroup,Ihavewrittenontrains,Ihave

writteninTim

Hortonssurroundedbyirtingpre-teens,Ihavewrittenatthe

diningroom

table.Iwritethisnowontheporchofarelatives

home,with

mygroupawaitingnewsofacompletedgoal.What

Ineededwa

snotperfectcircumstanceswhatIneededwas

community.

Frances

Phillips,Allowance:APoeticsofMotherhood,inTeGrand

Permission:NewWritingsonPoeticsandMotherhood,editedbyPatricia

DienstfreyandBrendaHillman(Middleton,CT:WesleyanUniversity

Press,),.


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Aco-authorwouldnecessitatethatIghtmyownimpulses

asawr

iter.Tisisagoodthingforme,and

Isuspectitisfor

mostw

riters.Morebelow.

Finally,andmostimportantly,Idbethinkingdifferently

fromthestart,tryingtothinknotonlyasandformyself,

butalsotryingtothinkthroughandabout

theinterests

andconcernsofmyco-author,tryingnottomerelywrite

myhalfofanessay,buttowriteawhole,inparts.

Likemostacademicsinthehumanities,Iwastrainedingraduate

schoolreally,inalloftheschoolsIattendedfromkindergar-

tenonthroughmyPhDtobeasolitarywrite

r.Iwastoldto

domyown

work,towritemyownessays,that

unauthorized

collaborationwasanacademicviolation.Incollegeandgraduate

school,Iwa

sneveraskedorassignedtowritew

ithaclassmate,

andImprettysure,atthatpoint,thatIwouldn

othavewanted

to.Iwastrainedto(guratively)headuptomy

lonelygarret,

whereIdnd(inthecinematicretelling,withm

eplayedby

GeorgeClooney)amanualtypewriterandagla

ssofscotch,and

where,inth

emiddleofthenight,infuriousburstsofenergy,

Idhammer

outmyown(brilliant!genius!)ideas,inscribing

andassertin

gmyidentitywitheveryclatteringkeystroke.Tis

Romanticnineteenth-centurymodelofauthorshipstillobtains

intheearly

twenty-rst,andIthinkitishightimetoabandonit.

Terearesomemovementsafoottopresstowardmorecollab-

oration,includingtheMaterialCollectivesencouragementof

co-writtenconferencepapersandpublications.Idontwantto

mandatethisforeveryone,ofcourse,andcollaborationisnotthe

rightpathforeveryproject.However,Idliketo

seecollaborative

workbecom

etheguidingassumptionandindustrystandard,

ratherthan

anunusualdeviationfromthesolita

rynorm.Inthe

lastdecadeorso,Ivebeenactivelyseekingoutwritingpartners,

andhaveco-writtenpiecesofvariedlength(blo

gposttobook)

withaboutadozencolleagues.EachoneisbetterthanwhatId

havewrittenonthesubject,writingalone.Tispiece,too,would

surelybebetterwithaco-author.

HowIWriteWhen

WritingSolo

IfIamtowriteapiecewithoutacollaborator,Igenerallyre

vert

tomytraining.Iconceiveanidea,readasmuchasIhavetimeto,

outlineattimes,inob

sessivedetail,thoughworkingwith

some

co-authorshasgottenm

etoloosenupsomeinthisregard

and

thenIwrite.Istartatth

eintroduction,writethebody,andthen

addonaconclusion,generallywritinginthatorderlyorder.

Iadd

allmynotesandapparatusasIwrite.Itisallquitedulland

unt

forcinematicportrayal.Icomposeprettyquickly,andgenerally

(moreorless)enjoythe

process.Mywritingmantraisfteen

minutesisenoughtime

togetsomethingwritten.(Actually

,

wejustnishedanepiso

deofDr.Who,andwhilemywifeis

brushingherteeth,Iveaddedafewlines,here.Plentyoftim

eto

accomplishsomething,especiallysincethisessayisonlysup

-

posedtobe25003000words.)Idonthaveazone,neverwork

late,andhaveneverpulledanall-nighter,evenincollege.Fo

rme,

writingisgenerallynotafraughtexercise,notlledwithangst

oranxietyexceptasregardsmeetingdeadlines,whichIrm

ly

believeindoing,everytime.

Ipaceanddrivemyw

ritingbycommittingtoconference

talks

andothersuchspeaking

gigs.IfIhaveagreedtospeakfor

fteen

orforty-veminuteson

asubject,Idbetterhavetherequisite

numberofpagesdrafted

andinreasonableshapebythen.Ialso

obsessovermyimagesfortalks,sothatmeansIvegottoha

ve

thethingwrittenenoughinadvancetospendafew(several)

hourspolishingupmyK

eynoteorPrezi(thoughhalfthetime,

thescreenturnsouttob

etinyandcrooked,ortheprojector

dim,

orthelightingintheroomtoobrightforanyonetoreallyappre-


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noidea.Surely,thiswou

ldbebetterorganized,andbetterw

ritten,

ifIhadaco-author.

What(IThink)IAm

LikeasaCollaborator

Great!Prompt!Reasonable!Supportive!Patient!Oh,andvery

needy.Iamaneedycollaborator.Iwanttotalkalot.Imight

emailyoufourtimesinagivenday.Orve(half-jokingsubject

linesread,forexample,Message6of9Today!).AndIllw

ant

tohearbackfromyouoften.Illworryaboutthedeadline,and

willreally,reallywantto

getourdraftinbythen,ifnotabit

before.Illwanttimeto

writeandpasstheessaytoyou,tothink

whileyouwriteandpassitbacktome,andsoon.Itwillbe

my

guidinghopethatwearedoingmorethaneachwritingtwo

sep-

aratehalvesandthenstitchingthemtogetherattheend.Iw

ant

towriteacohesivepiecethatneitherofuscouldhavewrittenon

ourown,notonlybecau

seofdisciplinaryandsubjectareaspe-

cialtiesbutalsobecause

ofpersonalitiesandwritingvoicesa

nd

individualconcerns.Iwanttobepressedandstretched.

Oh,andifyoulike,especiallyifyouarentanarthistorian

,Ill

offertodealwiththehe

adacheofpermissions,andwithputting

togetherthenalimage

lesandwhatnot.Ofcourse,ifyou

are

anarthistorian(orothe

rimage-yperson)andarewillingto

take

halfthestackofpermissionsrequests,thankyou!Itreallyisthe

worstpartofthewritingprocess.OrIllmakeyouadeal:Illdo

thepermissionsifyouw

illproofthenotes.Tatisevenworse.

Allofthiscollaborationisalotofwork.IsuspectthatIve

writtenasmanywordsinemailstomycollaboratorsasinm

y

writingswiththem.Inthehumanities,inmyexperience,hiring

committees,tenureand

promotioncommittees,andadminis-

tratorsoftenseecollaborativewritingasalesseractivity,and

co-writtenpiecesassoftadditionstoaCV.Ionceinterview

ed

forajoblistedasseekingamedievalarthistorianwithaspecialty

ciatethecare).MostofwhatIvewritten,then,waswrittenin

ten-pagebu

rsts,inadvanceofKalamazoo,MedievalAssociation

ofthePaci

c,Leeds,NewChaucerSociety,and

soon.Ofcourse,

thesearecollaborativevenues;thereasonwecometogetheris

becauseweareseekingtogetandgivehelp,thoughthesug-

gestionsandcorrectionsandsupportwereceive

atconferences

usuallygoes

uncredited.(Yes,Iknow,Iknow,noteveryoneis

constructive

andhelpful,andthereisalotofgrandstandingand

snipingand

othersuchfoolishness,butifthatw

asalltherewas,

wedstopgo

ing.Tatsjustsomethingweputupwithtogetthe

goodstuff,andshouldworktodiscourageinan

umberofways.)

Whenwritingsolo,Idohaveoneperhapswa

stefulpractice.

Iambynaturesomewhatcontrarian,andIenjoyagoodintellec-

tualdebate.

Inessence,thatswhatthewholescholarlyenter-

priseis,ora

tleastmightbe.Iamoften,implicitlyorexplicitly

writingagainstsomethingorsomeone,whichagain,ispartof

ourtraining

:ndaawinpreviousscholarship

andcorrectit,or

ndagapandllit.Tisisthestancewithwhichmostdisser-

tationsbegin.Myrst-draftintroductionstend

tobeobnoxious,

belittling,andself-aggrandizing.Lookathowstupidallpast

scholarship

hasbeen!LookathowsmartIam,incomparison!

Indwritin

gsuchintroductionstobeveryuseful.Teyhelpme

organizemythinkingonasubject,systemizemyunderstanding

ofthehistoriography,andgivemea(usuallystrawman)oppo-

nenttoghtasIwrite,whichanimatestheprocessandgivesthe

restofmyw

ritingabitmorezip.Butthankfullythewonderful

SuzanneLe

wis,mygraduateschooladvisor,taughtmetoalways,

intheend,cutthesesections.Teyremainacomm

onpartofmy

writingprocess,butIdontpublishthem.Teymaybehelp-

ful,butthey

arealsofoolishandpettyanddeeplyungenerous.

ShouldIhavetoldyouaboutwritingthem,atall?Ipromisethat

Iveneverdonethiswithsomethingyouwrote.Iloveyourwrit-

ing.Oyvey,IwishIddiscussedallofthiswithsomeonebefore

starting.Am

Igettingsomewhere?Isthismakingsense?Ihave


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41

fetteredbymyownabilities,creativity,andthetimeIvegotin

whichtowork,isafabulousluxury.Butitisevenbetterwhen

Ive

gotaco-authorsabilities,creativity,andtime,aswell.Havingthis

wouldcertainlyimprove

thislittlepiece.

HowCollaborating

Goes,inPractice

IwishIcouldsaythateverycollaborationIvehadhasbeen

equallyfulllingandrewarding,butofcourse,likeallhuman

relationships,theyvaryquiteabit.Somehavebeenjustideal

intellectuallyrichandexcitingandfullofinterchange,and

resultinginworkthatis

notmerelybetterthanwhatIcould

do

onmyownbutalsoprofoundlydifferentfromwhatIwould

have

done.Ontheotherhand,acoupleofmyplannedcollaborations

justdidnthappen;they

fellapartatonestageoranother.In

somecases,theprojectjustwentaway.Inothers,Icarriedon

unaccompanied,sinceth

epiecewaspromisedsomewhere.T

ey

turnedoutne,butIthinktheydhavebeenbetterwiththeir

intendedco-authors.

Somecollaborations,ofcourse,havebeeninthemiddle.Te

workgotdone(moreor

lessontime),theprocesswasinteresting,

andnottoofrustrating,

andImhappywiththeresults.Iam

very

gladtosaythatIvenot

yet(knockonwood)lostafriendover

acollaboration.Iveheardfromafewcolleaguesthattheyhave,

andsomeofthesehaveswornoffcollaborativework,butto

me,

thisseemslikegivingupondatingbecauseofabadrelation

ship.

Abadexperiencedoesntnegatethevalueoftheenterprise.I

wanttotellthesefolkstogetbackinthegame!Plentyofother

shinthesea!

IthinkIveguredou

twhatthetroublehasbeeninthose

caseswherethingshave

beensomewhatchallenging.Likem

ost

relationshipproblems,itcomesdowntoalackofopencommu-

nication.Iplantostartallfuturecollaborationswithaconversa-

ininterdisc

iplinarycollaboration.IthoughtIwasperfectforit.

Intheinterview,thechairofthecommitteeaskedmewhatIwas

workingon.Ispokeforafewminutesaboutmythen-current

collaborative,interdisciplinarybook(Inconceivab

leBeasts:Te

Wondersof

theEastintheBeowulfManuscript,co-authored

withmylon

g-termwritingpartneranddearfriend,SusanKim).

Tecommitteelookeddemonstrativelybored,soIpaused,and

thesecondIdid,thechairpointedlyleapedintoask,Whatis

yournextsoloproject?Butintheadyouasked.

..Nevermind.

Tankfully,mycolleaguesatChicoarehappywithmyapproach

topublishin

gandotherwork,sothisisnolongeraconcern,but

itwasquite

apparentinmyyearsonthejobmarket.

Tereseemstobesomesortofassumptionth

atco-writing

iseasierand

faster,issomesortofcheating.Iwasaskedabout

thesameproject,inadifferentjobinterview,W

hichhalfof

thebookdidyouwrite?Whichhalf?Iwrotethewholebloody

thing!AsdidSusanKim.Tatswhatcollaborationideallyis,as

Iseeit.Ista

ndbyeverywordinthebook,even

(especially?)ifI

canspot,hereandthere,phrasesthatarecharacteristicofSusans

writing,orideascharacteristicofherthoughtprocesses.

Partofsigningonforacollaborationmaybethemost

importantanddifficultpartisallowinganotherpersonto

inhabitmywords.Ihaveaprettystrongvoice,sp

eakingandwrit-

ing(shockin

gadmission,Iknow).Friendshavesaidthatwhen

theyreadmywriting,theycanthelpbuthearme

speakingthe

textintheir

heads.(Sorryaboutthat,everyone.)Itisagreatactof

trustandrecognitiontosay,Herearemywords,mythoughts,my

concernsandpreoccupations.Dowhatyoulikewiththem.Icare

passionately

aboutthesubjectsonwhichIwrite.Whyelsedoit?

Imtenured,anddontgetanyparticularrewardatmyuniversity

forpublishing,atthispoint(thoughIamwell-supportedand

feelappreciated).IwriteaboutwhatIwanttowriteabout,on

thescheduleIchoose(thoughIreallyneedtolearntosayyesto

fewerprojec

ts).Teabilitytochoosemyownintellectuallife,only


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43

Forallofmycarefulplanningandoutlining,Ioftengetoff-

scriptanddownvarious

rabbitholesandcountrylanes(mix

ing

metaphorswithwildabandon),andtheyarenotalwaysgood

routestotake.WaitingforareplyonceIvesentabatchoffto

aco-authorgivesmetim

eandspacetothinkthroughmystrat-

egies.WhydidIwritethat?ShouldIhavewrittenthat?IfI

am

writingsolo,Igenerally

justkeepongoing,andtherstfeed-

backIgetwilllikelybeataconference,afterIvegivenapiece

ofwhatisprobablyalreadyalargerchapterthathastherefore

becomemuchharderto

editthanitwouldhavebeenwhenit

wasthreeorvepages.Afewparagraphsin,everythingisas

softandmalleableaswax.Itissimpleandpainlesstomove,

shift,transform,ordelete.Tisisratherlessthecasewhena

chapteriswritten.

Ourgeneralworking

modelinthehumanitiesistowrite

in

isolationseveralfriendsactuallysetupwritingretreatsor

drop

offlineorengageinothersuchquarantiningpractices,andI

get

it!Itishardtofocuswh

enthecomputerkeepspingingustosay

thatwehavenewmessagesandpostsandallthat.Itisworthit

tome,though,forthehumancontact,fortheextendedexch

ange

onsubjectsofmutualin

terest.Teseconversationsmightlastfor

thespaceofablogpost,orforadecadeandcounting.

Tomycollaboratorsa

ndco-authors,past,present,andfuture,

then,thankyouforyourgreatgenerosityinallowingmeto

inhabityourwords,todigintoyourideas,toborrowyour

knowledge,andtoshare

inyourplaywiththewonderfulobjects,

texts,andthemesthatdrewustoworktogetherintherstplace.

Tankyouforshootingforgrantswithme(andsharingthe

rewards),fortravelingandco-speakingandsittingside-by-side

ingob-smackedaweofathingthathasmanagedtosurvive

a

thousandyears,onlytoendup,foraday,inourtremuloushands.

Tankyouforthinkingwithme,andforreplyingtoallmy

damnedemails.Iprobablyshouldhavegottenoneortwoor

tenofyoutowritethiswithme.ItwouldbebetterifIhad.

tionaboutw

hatIamliketowritewith(atleast

asfarasIknow),

andtoaskm

ypotentialco-authorstofessup,too.IfIknowthat

yourprocessistovanishforaweekortwo,here

andthere,and

youagreeto

saythatyouarefallingoffthegrid

forafortnight,

ne,Icanm

anage.IfIdontknowthis,Illpanic.Ithinkthat

MichaelCo

llinsstartedagreatconversation,andthatSuzanne

hasdonesomethingwonderfulinputtingtogetherthiscollection,

whichIhop

ewillinspiremoresuchstatements

aboutwriting,

formalandinformal.Teywouldbeagreatplac

etostarttogeta

senseofwhatmightbeinstore.

Whenco-writing,inpractice,inmostcases,I

thinkIprob-

ablygeneratemoredraftwordsthanmyco-authors,becauseI

amverbose

andmywritingstartsoutsomewhatchattily.Ilove

adjectivesandadverbs,andthinkthatrunsofth

emcanbequite

delightful.Iveonlyfoundoneco-authorsofar,

Ithink,who

isquiteasloquaciousasIam.Tatwasanessay

thatgotwrit-

tenveryquickly,andwastremendousfun.Butingeneral,Iam

appreciative

ofthemoreruminativepaceofotherco-authors.

Teyforcem

etoslowdownmywriting,whichmeansmore

thinkingandrethinking.Teyalsonoticewhen

Iamusingrhet-

orictocoverforlackofclarityinmythinking,orsimplybecause

Iamenjoyingthesoundofmyownauthorialvoice,regardlessof

whetherornotitaidsthediscussion.IagreewithJamesElkinss

accountofwriting:

Muchofarthistory...isnotentirelyconscious...Tinking

aboutartandhistoryis,Ithink,islikedaydreaming:we

driftin

andoutofawarenessofwhatwere

doing.Some-

timesitmaybeclearwhatimpelsmetowriteacertainpas-

sage;otherdays,Ihaveverylittleideawhy

acertaintheory

ringstrue,oracertainphrasesoundsright.

JamesE

lkins,OurBeautiful,Dry,andDistantTexts:ArtHistoryasWriting

(UniversityPark,PA:PennStatePress,),xx.


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JEFFRE

YJEROMECOHEN

HOWWEWRITE

46

47

Tisdaily

routineofbikeridesandwritingin

twolocations

sustainedm

ethroughthemostintenseperiodo

fcomposing

mythesis.B

ikingwasanessentialpartofmythinking,nota

delay.Most

ofmyresearchwasalreadydone,so

Ididntneedto

visitthelibraryoften.Ialsohaddraftedthoroughoutlinesof

howIexpec

tedchapterstounwind.Evenifeachwasintheend

disobedient,possessingaroadmapforeachwasessentialtowrit-

ingwithout

agonizingoverwhatcomesnext.Duringmynal

semesterin

graduateschool,IwasassignedtoT

Atwodifferent

classes,ShakespeareandHistoryofEnglish.Timeforbikerides

evaporated,

butthereshufflingofmyschedulew

asntacomplete

catastrophe.Iinventedsomenewroutines,andmanagedtocarve

smallerspaceswithinwhichtowriteintensely,helpedalongby

armdeadlineforsubmissionandapassionto

bedone.Work,

Ilearned,hasawayofllingallavailablespace.

Idontwanttoidealizethisperiod.Daysweresolitarytothe

point(attim

es)ofsadness.OftenIdthrowawa

ywhatIhad

writtenasa

falsestartoradeadend.ButIkept

atit.Troughout

graduateschoolIalsolivedwithatleastoneperson,andfound

apowerfulmotivationinknowingthatifIwork

edashardasI

couldduringthedayImightnothavetospend

anightlocked

inmyroom

withacomputerandahundredopenbooks.AndI

supposethatalsoshowsanotherreasonIcouldgetthewriting

done:Iamrewards-drivenaswellasgenerallytooimpatientto

procrastinate.Ihatehavingmypost-deadlinetimerobbedbya

projectthat

overspillsitsallottedframe,evenwhenthedeadline

isself-imposed.

Eversincechildrenenteredthepicturemyworkingdaysare

signicantly

shorterthanthoseIdescribeabove

.WhenKather-

ineandAlexarehome,Idontwanttobecloisteredinthestudy.

Itrytoend

mywritingjustbeforetheyarrive,exceptforemail

andoddsan

dends.Itdoesntalwaysworkandc

haos(intheform

ofsickdays

andsnowdays)enterstheequation

frequently.Pos-

sessingacomfortablespacededicatedtowritingisessential:the

formernurseryofourhouse,aroomaboutthesizeofawalk-in

closetintowhichIveso

mehowmanagedtotallmyimportant

books.OtherstrategiesthatIuse,withvaryingdegreesofsucces

s:

EverydayIwakeu

pat5and(onmostofthem)run.

Tatseemscrazy,I

know,butholdsmanyrewards.Te

worldismorevivid

atthatliminalhour.Runningprovides

mewithsolitudeandreectiontostarttheday,andIfeel

betterafterwards.

Itrytowriteorrev

isesomethingeverymorning.Mymind

shutsofflateintheafternoonsoIcannotdomuchmo

re

thanemail.

SometimesIsimplycantgetthewordsoutofme.Id

dle

withwhatIvewritten,Isurftheinternet,Igobackand

tryagain.Butifwr

itingdoesntcomeitdoesntcome.I

let

myselfoffthehook

ratherthanallowself-recrimination

tosnowball.Sometimesyouneedafallowdaytoobtain

afertileone.

Irewardmyselfwithsmallamountsofsocialmediaafter

writingforabit.ReadingblogsorFacebookdoesntneces-

sarilydistractfrom

gettingworkaccomplished;sometimes

itisthesmallbreakneededtoreturnwithmorefocus.

Iuseanoutlinenotonlyformywriting,butformytim

e.I

focusongettingasemi-discretetaskaccomplishedwithina

timeperiodaparticularsectionofanessaywritten,a

cer-

tainbookread.IuseGoogleCalendarandAppleRemind-

erstokeeptrackofapproachingdeadlinesandportion

out

mytime.Itrynottomissthesedeadlinesbecausethen

I

screwupthework

schedule.Ihavetoomuchtravelandtoo


43/93


44/93

JEFFRE

YJEROMECOHEN

HOWWEWRITE

50

51

persedintochainsofassociativelogicandtopicalmeandering.

IhaveastringoftermsIcantmakecohereandthewholething

seemsarepetitiousamalgamthatdoesntaccomplishmuch(and

yetistheproductofagreatdealofresearchandlabor).Te

chap-

terkickedmybutt.Ineedto,um,sitonapilloworsomethingso

thatitdoesntdothatto

meagain.

DAY19

Ahalfday:WendyandI

willescapetoLurayforalongweek

end,

whereexploringsomecavesandhikingthemountainswillkeep

thegeologicrealevenwhenlockdownissuspended.IfeelOK

aboutdepartingthehermitagebecauseyesterdaysdeadlockwas

brokenbyanoutpouringofhelpfulFBcomments(44!)asItried

towrapmymindaroundrocksandterminologicalfailure.Allhail

thepowerofsocialmediaandthegenerosityofthosewho

useit.

DAY20

AfteranawesomeGeologicShenandoahEscape,Writing

Lockdownbeganinausp

iciouslylastnightwithamassiveonset

ofanxietymatchedwith

thethunderousnearingofastorm:each

reverberatingboomwas

afootstepofDay20approachingand

thetopplebackintomy

book.Treatenasitdid,however,the

stormneverarrived,and

afteratensehourIfellasleep...and

maybethatisasignthatreturntolockdownwillbeOK.

DAY21

Stillgoingstrong.12hoursafterwakingupthismorning,

chapternowseemsvastlyimprovedinacriticalsection.If,

however,Iamevercompelledtowriteanythingatanypoint

everagaininmycareeraboutmedievalcarbuncles,OFOOL,

ISHALLGOMAD.

DAY4

Havediscov

eredthatrevisingisasenjoyableaspokingsticks

inyoureyeagainandagain.ImaginedIwasBartleby,butthe

versionwho

cantstoptypingawayatabookchaptereven

whenhiseyeshurtfromallthepoking.Ateagingercookie

inBartlebyshonor.

DAY10

TecashierattheUndisclosedLocationwhereItrytodoan

hourofwritinglockdowneachmorninginsistedthatmycoffee

isontheho

usebecauseImnowaregular.

DAY11

Encounteredmuchofmywritingatitsworst(sentencesthat

runonsolo

ngtheyleavetheirsubjectsstranded

twentylines

fromtheirv

erbs,catalogssolengthytheygesturetowardsinnity,

repetitionsthattendtowardsredundancy),butalsoaccomplished

somerigoro

usthinkingabouttheultimateshapeofthebook.

Idohaveco

ndencethatitwillcometogether,

intime.Ive

sketchedou

tthreepossibilitiesforitsnalform

andwewillsee

whatclarity

tomorrowbrings.UnlikelastFriday,whenIwas

declaringth

atanuntimelydeathwouldatleast

freemeofthis

albatross,todayIlacklucidityaboutthenalsh

apeofthething

butitseemsOK.

DAY13

Todaydidn

otstartwell,mostlyduetoinsomniaaboutWriting

LockdownandtheshittychapterIamfacedwithrevising.

DAY17

Nomatterh

owlongIlookedatthechaptermo

stwordsseemed

illchosenandtheargumentIthoughtIhadnaileddowndis-


45/93

JEFFRE

YJEROMECOHEN

HOWWEWRITE

52

53

leftfootachesfromthe

crazypositionIplaceitwhenImnot

payingattention.

DAY35

Bluecloudsagainstblacksky,andtheradiantTunderMoo

n

behind.AgoodomenfromthismorningsrunforWriting

Lockdown.

DAY40

40daysand40nightsofWritingLockdowneithermeans

ImNoahsailinginana

rkfullofchapterswhichareinturn

crammedwithhorrendo

uslystrainedmetaphorsORthatIhave

onlytw

akbari how we write ebook

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