It’s Academic Writing Month again. This November, join with noted scholar of writing, Dr. Helen Sword, and her writing companions for #AcWriMoment. Sword has brought together writing prompts for all 30 days of November to help you out with your writing. And it’s FREE!!! What’s not to like? Here is Sword’s description of what she is doing this November…
Dear fellow writer,
Do I really have what it takes to be a writer? What’s even the point of trying to create scholarship in this messed-up world? What difference could my writing possibly make for me or the people I care about?
If any of these questions trouble you when you’re trying to write, you’re in good company. We all struggle sometimes with questions of purpose, identity, and motivation in our work.
When you ask yourself gentler, more expansive questions, you can transform your experience of the writing process and feel empowered to create work that is truly your own:
Who am I, and why am I here? What unique perspectives, experiences, and constellations of values define who I am as a writer? How might I use my writing practice to expand my capacity for pleasure and joy?
Which brings me to #AcWriMoments, a 30-day sequence of writing prompts co-curated with my friend and colleague Margy Thomas, founder of ScholarShape.
Once upon a time, #AcWriMo (Academic Writing Month) was all about word counts, timers, and quantitative assessment of your writing progress. The participation rules included imperatives such as “You have to work really hard and not get distracted” and “At the end you must publicly declare your results on the spreadsheet or on social media.”
Margy and I have created #AcWriMoments as an alternative to that kind of productivity-pumping challenge. Each day throughout the month of November 2023 (aka “Slowvember”), you’ll receive a fresh writing prompt ushering you into a sacred moment of communion with yourself and your scholarly work. Best of all, it’s free!
These 30 beautiful prompts have been created by a fabulous group of contributors — writing coaches, editors, consultants, and scholars — whose approaches to writing honor the connection between your intellect and the whole human being that you are:
alys longley, Helen Kara, Helen Sword, Hussain Shah Rezaie, Inger Mewburn, Jane Jones, Jane Rosenzweig, Jillian Hess, Jim Lang, Jo Van Every, Katie Linder, Laura Portwood-Stacer, Leslie Wang, Margy Thomas, Marialuisa Aliotta, Martha B. Coven, Michael W. Moses II, Michelle Boyd, Patricia Goodson, Steven Pinker, Selina Tusitala Marsh, Sophie Nicholls.
In just a few minutes of reflection each day, you can discover new energy, insights, and encouragement for your scholarly work. Please share this email with your friends and encourage them to sign up too.
We’d love to see you there!
Helen Sword
QualPage 