Comments on: Scholars on scholarship, writers on writing

By: Indyanna

Indyanna — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 14:35:20 +0000

I just take it to be uncontestable–and neither demonstrable nor in need of demonstration–that research is requisite to teaching. Anyone who things otherwise can look at my mother’s 1939 colleage American History textbook, with which no amount of presentation skills, clickers, learning style-based student engagement strategies, assessment tools, or whatever, will be of any pedagogical use or moment. And I don’t really think about teaching when I’m doing research, any more than (I hope) squirrels think about eating nuts when they ought to be out there *gathering* nuts. I just know it will be in there when the teachable moment comes around.

I’m a morning person but not a morning *working* person. That’s my time for getting organized–in an organic sense of the word. Writing happens in the afternoon, and research often at night, if what you can do on the internets can be called research. Otherwise, you’ve just just got to mind those posted archival and bibliotechtonic “opening hours,” a term I’ve always loved since my first trip to England.

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 02:08:04 +0000

I agree with Dr. Crazy, telling people you are doing something forces you, ultimately, to do it. And I say I’ll give a paper on it. That MAKES me do something.

By: Comrade PhysioProf

Comrade PhysioProf — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:38:19 +0000

Dr. Crazy is the best and funniest scholarly introspector out there! (No offense to other scholarly introspectors.)

By: Feminist Avatar

Feminist Avatar — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 21:55:28 +0000

I am a McWhorter- I get up around 9 (unless I have to be up for something else) need to read by blogs, the news, drink some tea, then get into the ‘process’- so reading what I’ve done, futzing about, and then start writing about 11ish. Then, once I go, I am good to go for hours and have to drag myself away in the evening like Nell, when I stop being productive. An important part of my process though is getting up to do things when I need to think- I am not very good at sitting thinking. So, I have built in having a shower, making food, doing laundry, cleaning the house, into small segments that I do during ‘writing breaks’, which really is thinking breaks as I work out my next paragraph or idea.

By: wini

wini — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:50:43 +0000

I’m also a morning writer. Afternoons I do my analysis and reading, and then I wake up with thoughts synthesized.

Of course, it also takes me awhile to get to the point, so by producing everyday I can go back and delete lots and lots of stuff.

By: Dr. Crazy

Dr. Crazy — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:48:26 +0000

Matt, if it makes you feel better, I don’t think that my writing is more inspired or romantic in that I don’t write first thing – I think it’s just that my brain needs like 4 hours to wake up in order to produce anything worth reading. I can tell you (as I take a small break from writing right now) that the writing I’ve been doing this week? Feels very mechanical.

By: Matt L

Matt L — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:46:03 +0000

Hey Historiann and co.,

Thanks for that advice about following the instructions and checking the boxes with enthusiasm. Can Do!

Re: what kind of writer are you? I want to be like Nell Painter, but I am much more like PJ O’Rourke. If I don’t get out of bed, have coffee, and write three morning pages before walking the dog, I can’t get any writing done the rest of the day. If I stop to read a blog or the paper, writing is onerous and it takes all day to write those three pages.

But if I get those three pages (of anything) written first thing, the rest of the day goes easy. I can get the administrivia taken care of, my classes are a joy… the little blue bird of happiness appears, etc. Sometimes I can even stomach revising and editing.

I wish my writing was more leisurely, or in the Romantic mode, but really, I just have to pound it out in the first couple hours of the morning. Its really mechanical, unfortunately.

By: Dr. Crazy

Dr. Crazy — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:06:05 +0000

And for what it’s worth, my process is most like John McWhorter’s.

By: Dr. Crazy

Dr. Crazy — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:01:00 +0000

Thanks for the shout-out, H. I think your advice is good about sabbatical applications (I was going to write the same thing). About keeping the research going… well, the way I do it is that I tell people what I’m working on. Shame is a HUGE motivator for me, so if I blab all about what I’m working on, that forces me to actually get the work done. That and conference presentations….

By: squadratomagico

squadratomagico — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:49:44 +0000

Thanks for the clip on writing, H’ann! I enjoyed it… but I’m having trouble figuring out which one I am. I think I might be closest to McWhorter when I’m really writing actively. I get up, read blogs and such; then sit down and force myself to stay at the desk until something comes out. Sometimes I sit staring at the screen for hours, but I won’t let myself leave because then I’ll just start having fun and never come back. Eventually, I realize that I can either sit there and force myself to be productive, then leave when I meet my page length deadline (which I set low at first, then raise as I get more momentum over time); or sit there and be bored forever. It works.

Right now, however, I am at that moment where I’m trying to make myself believe that I’ve read enough and can actually start writing. That’s a hard one, too, as I tend to obsess over getting that last bit of inspiration and information from the huge pile of books I never seem to conquer, since new ones always are added.