[Image Description: Calvin rests his hand on a box as he says, " It's a writer's block! You put it on top of your desk and then you can't write there anymore!" Hobbs looks to the side, unamused.]

Pictured: You, as both Calvin and Hobbs

 

When I started this blog post, I had a ton of great ideas. There was a tab of resources on writer's block to share, tips and tricks, and selected personal experiences to share. I still ended up staring at a blank word document typing and then deleting this opening sentence. At the same time, I flipped through my references to distract myself from the inability to put words on paper. I thought I was prepared to jump into this because I had done my research and read up on the topic. Turns out I should have taken some time to start with an outline first. I wouldn't have had to deal with flashbacks to the time I couldn't figure out what to write for the historical ecology section of my candidacy exam. There are many strategies to overcome writer’s block without resorting to the sometimes suggested glass of wine or a beer. An exercise that has led to more napping than writing in my experience. I plan on sharing a couple of my worst experiences with this common problem and the strategies I have found to help overcome those situations.

 

[Image Description: A woman sitting at a desk tips her head to the side while she types quickly. The image shifts to view her computer screen where she is typing a string of letters.]

Pictured: You, 'word vomiting' out your first draft. Don't worry, you'll clean it up later

 

In the first month of my freshman year of college, I had to write an essay on "The Illiad" for my freshman seminar class. It was my only class where essays were a significant part of my grade, and the professor was one of my favorites. I decided on the perfect topic to impress him. It was ~unique~and~different, an exploration of Diomedes as the true hero of the story. The biggest problem was I had no idea how to do this, and I wanted my first draft to be perfect. I expected brilliance, which I know is impossible, but that desire made it so hard to even start writing. In this instance, it turned out that I just needed to get something down and then be ok with revising it. If you haven’t heard of this strategy, I am a huge fan of word vomit as a method for a first draft. While my existential angst and desire to prove myself to academic authority figures prevented me from getting started, the deadline got closer and closer, which ended up being great for me. When I was forced to begin writing, I was able to throw all my ideas down, and then started the process of shaping them into something coherent. From this experience, I realized how important having something written as a starting point, that it is ok to have to revise your work, and that I work way better with a deadline looming, which I know is not universal.

 

[Image Description: Nick, from New Girl, stands up to walk away from his desk and his computer with a small shake of his head while saying, "I got nothing."]

Pictured: An example of what happens when you don't take breaks and stick to a schedule 

 

The second experience I’ll share is about my written candidacy exam. I think this is an experience that many of you reading this might relate to. Like many other graduate students, I have dealt with imposter syndrome, which hit me hard during my written exam. I am so lucky to have amazing friends in the EEOB department and other departments at UCR who have completed their candidacy exams or were taking them at the same time I was. While I love them all dearly, it can be tough to not compare myself to all of the accomplished, smart, and sometimes already Ph.D. candidate people I knew. I really had to take a step back and focus on myself to feel comfortable in that situation. Another way I dealt with the challenges in preparing a long and important manuscript was to review what I had already written. While my written exam was unique in many ways, it was constructive for me to reference grant proposals, essays from classes, or other related material I had already prepared. I was able to see how I was ready to complete the exam and gave me excellent reference material to build off of. For things like written exams, journal articles, or other long manuscripts, remember to give yourself breaks and have a schedule. I really beat myself up if I felt like I hadn't spent enough time in a week writing and would cut breaks to make up for my lack of productivity. All of that ended up making me even less productive. Remember to have a schedule and take breaks!

 

 

[Image Description:  A three panel comic. In the first panel, two animated figures stand side by side. The figure on the left asks, "Excuse me. Do you know the way to inspiration?" In panel two, the figure on the right points to the right and says, "Oh yeah. It's just a few blocks that way." In panel three, the image is zoomed out to show the two figures standing in frond of three large blocks labeled: writer's block, artist's block, and a thrid box without a label.]

Pictured: The GWC can help with that first block and get you a little closer to inspiration!

 

I still find writing to be one of the biggest challenges in academia. The internet has made it worse because I can go on twitter and find six people who had 20 publications during their Ph.D. program, which makes the pace at which I write seem glacial. Like I said above, I don’t compare myself to these people anymore, most of the time at least. Becoming a better writer has been a journey that I have really enjoyed. I never thought I would be someone who gave writing advice, I think my 12th grade English teacher would be even more shocked, but apparently, enough practice got me here. I hope that this little monologue has provided you with resources (Did you see all the hyperlinks?) and helped normalize some of the challenges that come with writing. Remember if all else fails to schedule an appointment at the Graduate Writing Center to get some help.