Writing as a process

During a recent onboarding meeting with a new member of PhDone, they voiced something we’ve heard many times before, and that we often still feel ourselves: the fear of the blank page; the anxious feeling of not knowing where, when or how to begin writing.

We really understand where this anxiety comes from. Many of us have been taught (either implicitly or explicitly) to adhere to a version of academic writing or a system of working that shuts down other ways of working: the notion that writing has to be polished or perfect, and that it comes as the last part of the process, after the careful development and organisation of thought. This is a fantastic system if it works for you.

If, like us and our newest PhDone member, this system creates anxiety rather than inspiration - then we’d love you to know: there is no one right way to do a PhD. Part of doing a PhD is figuring out how you, as an individual, like to work: what rhythms support you and what approach to writing makes it as easy as possible. Today, we’d like to invite you to consider one possible approach to writing, to test out whether it might work for you.

What happens if we don’t think of writing as the final stage? What if we didn’t need to have everything figured out in order to begin? For many PhD students, writing can act as a form of thinking, and can develop and further the ideas emerging on the page. It can be how ideas get formed, discovered, pushed and explored. This is an approach to research that has helped many students (and us, too!) take the pressure off the blank page.

It’s also worth remembering that a PhD is like nothing we’ve ever done before: it’s a long project that invites growth, reflection and (crucially!) change over time. Your PhD is allowed to be an iterative and emerging process, and you’re allowed to do that through writing. Writing doesn’t have to be polished, it just has to move the ideas forward.

Where freewriting comes in

One of the practices we return to again and again within PhDone - in our writing sessions, our 1:1 office hours, and our community calls - is freewriting. This is a practice that allows us to engage with writing without judgement or anxiety, without pausing to stop and edit or question things. It can invite us to use writing as part of the process of discovery, curiosity or thinking - and can also help us if we ever feel stuck. The goal with freewriting is just about creating some movement and momentum - these practices don’t have to be seen by anyone else but you.

We’d love to share some of our favourite freewriting prompts with you. Set a timer for five minutes and write without stopping - so your pen doesn’t leave the page, or your fingertips don’t leave your keyboard. No editing, no worrying about where things are going to go - just follow your line of thought as see where it takes you.

On your research:

• The thing I find most genuinely interesting about my research right now is…

• Something I haven’t been able to articulate yet, but which feels important, is...

• If I had to explain why this research matters to someone I really respect, I would say...

On where you’re stuck:

• The part of my thesis that feels most unresolved right now is... and I think that’s because...

• When I avoid writing, what I’m usually actually avoiding is...

• The argument I’m trying to make, even if I can’t quite prove it yet, is...

On you as a thinker:

• The questions I keep coming back to, across everything I read and write, are...

• The kind of scholar I want to be, in how I think and act, not just what I produce, is someone who...”

We hope these are useful places to begin.

A quick note on mess: academic culture doesn’t often make space for the messy middle. There’s a lot of pressure to just present the finished work (polished arguments with clear set conclusions), which means the generative, exploratory, curious and tentative parts of the process can feel like something we have to hide. At PhDone, we want to challenge this. The messy drafts and emerging thoughts are integral to our work.

At PhDone, we hold regular writing sessions where researchers can come and work together, without any pressure.

April achievements within our PhDone community

🎉 We’re celebrating Dr. Kelly Brady’s successful defense of her dissertation! Kelly joined the PhDone Dissertation Completion Programme last May, and it’s been a complete honour being part of her PhD journey. We’ve loved getting to know her and celebrate her. You can congratulate her over on our latest IG post!

💗 We’ve had three new members join us this month! It’s been so lovely welcoming our new members into our PhDone community. Our cohort has now grown to 30 incredible PhD students, and it’s such a joy getting to support these phenomenal researchers and seeing everyone connect and support one another.

🔖 We’re celebrating the publication of one of our newest PhDone members’ original research! Claudia Suarez’s peer-reviewed article ‘Hugo Chávez and the Legalization of Dictatorship in Venezuela’ is available to read here.

🗞️ There’s so much to celebrate this month within our community! Dianna Bradley runs a program called ‘Art in the Library’ (which her dissertation focuses on) has been featured in the news. Read all about it here!

👏 Another of our PhDone members, Garance Fromont, has been offered her dream job, to start after she completes her incredible thesis. We couldn’t be happier for you, Garance!

If you’re interested in joining PhDone and finding a community full of support and connection, click here.

With care,

Khalia and Polly