Mind Your Writing. Christian Wymann

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Mind Your Writing - Christian Wymann

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Christian Wymann

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Barbara Budrich Publishers. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

      You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

      A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from

      Die Deutsche Bibliothek (The German Library)

      © 2021 by Verlag Barbara Budrich GmbH, Opladen, Berlin & Toronto www.budrich.eu

      ISBN 978-3-8474-2459-8

      elSBN 978-3-8474-1592-3 (PDF)

      elSBN 978-3-8474-1593-0 (epub)

      DOI 10.3224/84742459

      Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen.

      Die Deutsche Bibliothek – CIP-Einheitsaufnahme

      Ein Titeldatensatz für die Publikation ist bei der Deutschen Bibliothek erhältlich.

      Verlag Barbara Budrich GmbH

      Stauffenbergstr. 7. D-51379 Leverkusen Opladen, Germany

      86 Delma Drive. Toronto, ON M8W 4P6 Canada

      www.barbara-budrich.net

      Jacket illustration by Bettina Lehfeldt, Kleinmachnow – www.lehfeldtgraphic.de Picture credits: Bettina Lehfeldt, Kleinmachnow – www.lehfeldtgraphic.de Editor: Alison Romer, Lancaster, UK Editing and Typesetting by Ulrike Weingärtner, Gründau – [email protected] Printed in Europe on acid-free paper by paper&tinta, Warsaw

      Contents

       Introduction

       1. Why do you write?

       2. What do you think your writing can do?

       3. What does the term writing process mean to you?

       4. What’s your writing strategy?

       5. How do you approach writing projects?

       6. How much time do you need to write?

       7. What’s your writing style?

       8. What does text feedback mean to you?

       9. What blocks your writing?

       10. What are the Dos and Don’ts of academic writing for you?

       Now it’s your turn

       Acknowledgements

       References

       Index

      [7] Introduction

      Are you minding your writing? Are you deliberately taking the myriad decisions that academic writing asks you to take? Do you know yourself as a writer well enough? Not at all, or not as much as you wish? I thought so. Why else would you pick up this book?

      Don’t feel ashamed. We all have our writing weaknesses that we don’t want to look at too closely – or that someone else will detect. Don’t hide yourself, because that won’t make your situation any better. As painful as it might be, looking at your writing weaknesses – as well as strengths – with an analytical and professional gaze will make you a better writer.

      Yes, you read that correctly: professional. Professionals analyze what works and what doesn’t work for them in order to find solutions for better performance in the future. Whether it’s business, music, sports or writing, you can always improve something that didn’t work out the way that you thought it should. Instead of dwelling on your hopes, high or low expectations or day dreams, let’s pause for a minute or two and get down to the problem and solve it. This is what professionals do; this is what you should do. The alternative of acting as if you had no problems and carrying on as usual wouldn’t sound alluring, if you knew what could potentially await you: the pain of writing, frustration, anxiety, guilt, stress, pressure and far more unsatisfying mental states. Get hold of yourself and [8] accept reality. Let’s be frank and clear: you need to know what you’re doing when writing.

      Who can benefit from this book and how will it help them?

      If you’re reading this, I expect that you’re one of the following: a student in an institution of higher education, a PhD candidate, a postdoctoral researcher, an established researcher, or any other kind of serious and/or professional writer. They tend to be my primary audience; at its core, their writing includes some sort of researching and processing of information. They engage in communicating new knowledge that others will work with and react to.

      I will ask you some of the most fundamental and simple questions about writing and being a professional writer. These are the questions that I ask my clients in counseling sessions and workshops. Regardless of whether they are first-year bachelor students, PhD candidates or established professors with years of writing experience – they all profit from answering these questions, and so will you. With these questions I want to initiate a reflexive process that lets you take a step back from your actual work. This will help you to see what is going on in your writing life and what needs improvement or radical change. Having thought about the questions,

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