Start Writing Today!

'Start writing today!' is the message I took away with me from a very interesting Thesis Writing Group session I attended last week. This message struck a real cord with me. The session was given by a current PhD researcher who was in the process of writing up their own doctoral research. The researcher provided a number of very useful insights about the writing process which has really inspired me at the beginning of my second week.

I have to admit I did personally find the process of finally writing up my Master’s dissertation very difficult, especially as it came at the end of a quite rewarding few months of reading the literature, analysing data and getting ‘results’. Finally pulling all the pieces of the dissertation together and writing it up into a concise piece of academic writing was hard.

I therefore enjoyed listening to this particular researcher, who offered the idea of the process of writing as actually a ‘solution’. A process, which started early, structures your thoughts and actually helps you develop your ideas. Obviously starting writing early will require re-writing and editing later on but straightaway allows you to know where new ideas belong, gives your thoughts direction and identifies any gaps. He also offered writing as a process which allowed you to really engage with the language and terminology within your field, giving you a greater confidence (written and orally) in you subject area.

He suggested writing could actually be a great stress relief, and I agree. Ensuring that you start writing early, gives you a feeling of achievement. My research project is short and I know progress needs to be swift. Being inspired by this researcher, I have taken his message to ‘start today’ very seriously. At the end of last week I wrote up my initial plans and also my initial thoughts and ideas from my reading and from the conversations I had. I obviously won't appreciate the full benefits until I come to the end of the project but in the short-term I know it has provided me with that sense of achievement as I have something physically to show for my first week.

One researcher at the session gave his own insightful metaphor I will end with. Writing is like doing the dishes! After the fun of 'eating', don't let the dishes pile up. Clear up as you go along and it will save time in the long-run. So whatever stage of the research process you are at, 'start writing today'!!



*Thank you to the organiser, the presenter and the others who attended the Wolfson Thesis Writing Group for letting me enjoy and participate.

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