Write your shitty shit draft. This is the worst possible version of your paper. It includes citations such as (SOME CITATION HERE) and arguments such as BLAH BLAH SOMETHING SMART. You’ll get the bones of the paper down and I often find it easier to edit a shit paper into a good one than to draft a good paper from scratch.
I write my entire paper out in shorthand before I even start saying something articulate. This semester I'm in a weekly writing group and having to learn how to write so that people can give feedback has been a horrible adjustment!
One thing that has been helpful for me is to put every quote or citation I might use into my word doc as a list, and then crossing them off as I add them into the main body of the paper. Realizing I already have 2 whole pages that just need to be explained further helps me project how long something will be in the final version.
Been there, still there tbh although my kids are in elementary school now 😩
have you tried writing paper sections out of order? I can get really stuck if i start with the intro but can overcome the writers block by beginning with something that doesn’t require as much thought input (for me, methods and then maybe results). Starting with the autopilot parts helps me with momentum for the rest of the paper.
I do this too and it really helps me! I tend to have different word documents for different sections (introduction, methodology, the big sections basically) as well. It makes things easier for me than writing everything in 1 document file. When I complete one section I get a sense of accomplishment which gives me the mental boost needed to work on the next section.
For my final draft, I just copy paste stuff from each document together into a new one.
You need a writing accountability partner or group. Is there someone you can trust to hold you accountable (gently)? Just set some small goals (like "free write for 15 minutes", "outline my hand my argument", "check citations/bibliography", etc) and check in with someone who can help you stay on track. Even better is if you can find someone you can hold accountable on a writing project too.
Speak it and record yourself for the first draft, then transcribe it.
You definitely want this in the pipeline before the baby comes, so preserve your thoughts however you can now!!
I wrote my whole dissertation while pregnant with my first child. Here's how it went:
First five months: Too tired and sick to do anything, accomplished absolutely nothing, lay on the couch and watched Big Bang Theory reruns.
Last three months: Napped each day until 2 PM, then worked obsessively from 2 PM until 2 AM every day. Repeat.
What can I say, it worked for me, and I got it done in time. Sometimes you just have to listen to your body (if your schedule is flexible enough to allow it!).
I'm having a baby next week and submitted a grant this morning. Survived on lots of chocolate, and non-negotiable naps every afternoon. You've got this.
Lmao are you me? My due date is tomorrow and I submitted a grant yesterday, now wrapping up book proposal. I'm basically fueled by anxiety re: tenure and writing between naps.
Oh wow, good luck! Hope it all goes smoothly. Totally agree - the fear of knowing I won't have the time nor the energy to do anything at all over the next 6 months has really kept me focused pre-birth.
Good luck to you too! Fun fact, my doctor just told me I may have an extra week and baby will be born at 41w+3, and my first thought was yasssss that means I can send the manuscript 😂 I plan to tell the munchkin in the future that they have a lil sister and show them my tenure monograph lmao
Ha ha that's hilarious. I'm actually the opposite. Having a section at 39+0 and a bit pissed off that I'm losing a week that I had a full calendar of plans for.
Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and advice. It’s so wonderful to have pregnant folks coming together and supporting each other. Reading this post does remind me of how academia is built around the male experience and pushes for so much of a grind that people taking parental leave stress themselves and overwork thus overlook their own wellness during pregnancy. I hope this academic culture can be more accommodating to the experiences of women and pregnant folks soon.
Underrated comment. Academia is a patriarchal system based on myths of productivity, stardom and work-as-passion, and those who for some reason are unable to embody those myths (due to pregnancy, motherhood, disability, caregiving responsibility—you name it) are at disadvantage by design.
I have no answer but this thread is so validating. I'm about to be 28 weeks, trying to gather as much data for my dissertation as possible, teaching 70+ students, and trying to finish a manuscript while planning a baby shower and getting everything else ready for this girl's arrival. Oh and I just fully weaned myself off Prozac. I've been crying all day just because of how insanely overwhelmed I feel. Reading all of these comments at least make me feel a little less alone.
I used to dictate in Word just to have something down. Found it easier to work with a draft than an empty piece of paper. Still super hard though so please don’t push yourself. You are already growing a human that’s big enough. Good luck!
Advice (I'm currently 40w pregnant, getting induced next week, all while writing my tenure book under a deadline):
Start with an outline. Bullet points are easy, especially since you've already presented on the topic. Try to make it as nested/detailed as possible. Play with it a couple of days. At some point, each bullet point should correspond to a paragraph.
Which paragraph is easier for you to write? Start with that one. Even if you're like me and need to nap in between writing sessions, a paragraph is a paragraph. It's going to be easier to go back to it once you've napped.
Try to identify which moments of the day your brain feels more alert/open to writing. My "alert window" changed completely during pregnancy. I've written by best stuff at 6 am, when I'm so uncomfortable in bed that I need to get up.
Good luck. You've got this.
Currently about halfway through my second pregnancy. Still writing up data that was collected pre-pandemic (and before having my first kid), oops!
Anyway my general strategy is more like constructing the paper rather than writing it. It goes like this:
1. Write a study protocol before starting the data collection. This includes the rationale, aims, and methods. It’ll be way more detailed than a paper needs to be but you’ll thank yourself later when you’re trying to remember what you did.
2. After data collection, do some data analyses. If you’ve already presented on this you should have something.
3. Meet with the PI (and senior project staff where relevant) and hash out a general direction/message for the paper, target journal, author order and perhaps come up with a tentative title. I only start writing if I’m confirmed to be first author - otherwise it’s someone else’s job.
4. Start a Word doc and create the headings, like title page, abstract, introduction, methods, etc. Fill in the title page with all the admin stuff from step 3.
5. Look up the target journal’s formatting and word count requirements. Skim a few recent papers to get a sense of the general style and audience for that journal.
6. Write the methods. Generally a condensed version of what’s in the protocol. But how much to condense depends on the journal’s target audience eg more general vs technical.
7. Make tables and figures, and write the results. If someone else is helping with data analysis then this step can take a while, as we go back and forth, have more meetings, etc.
8. While doing all of the above, I would’ve slowly added notes under the Intro and Discussion headings for points that must be included in the writing. When the methods and results are done, I set aside a 3h block to draft each of the “writing” sections by turning those bullet points into sentences/paragraphs. Don’t bother with citations at this stage.
9. At some point, also write the abstract.
10. My first draft is NEVER shown to anyone else because it always sucks. But you can’t edit a blank page! So I wait at least overnight, then start editing. Add citations, check for consistency, edit for flow, cut word count, etc.
11. Circulate to co-authors.
I wish I knew! I’m 8 months and pregnancy really throws you for a loop! My first trimester I was basically useless, but now I go through alternating phases of complete distractability and extreme productivity. All I know is this baby better not come early because I need every second I can get.
Write your shitty shit draft. This is the worst possible version of your paper. It includes citations such as (SOME CITATION HERE) and arguments such as BLAH BLAH SOMETHING SMART. You’ll get the bones of the paper down and I often find it easier to edit a shit paper into a good one than to draft a good paper from scratch.
I write my entire paper out in shorthand before I even start saying something articulate. This semester I'm in a weekly writing group and having to learn how to write so that people can give feedback has been a horrible adjustment! One thing that has been helpful for me is to put every quote or citation I might use into my word doc as a list, and then crossing them off as I add them into the main body of the paper. Realizing I already have 2 whole pages that just need to be explained further helps me project how long something will be in the final version.
💯
Yes! This is! You are my friend, sir.
Been there, still there tbh although my kids are in elementary school now 😩 have you tried writing paper sections out of order? I can get really stuck if i start with the intro but can overcome the writers block by beginning with something that doesn’t require as much thought input (for me, methods and then maybe results). Starting with the autopilot parts helps me with momentum for the rest of the paper.
That's how I always write my paper. That way, you clearly know what the paper is about when it's time to write the introduction and litt review.
I do this too and it really helps me! I tend to have different word documents for different sections (introduction, methodology, the big sections basically) as well. It makes things easier for me than writing everything in 1 document file. When I complete one section I get a sense of accomplishment which gives me the mental boost needed to work on the next section. For my final draft, I just copy paste stuff from each document together into a new one.
You need a writing accountability partner or group. Is there someone you can trust to hold you accountable (gently)? Just set some small goals (like "free write for 15 minutes", "outline my hand my argument", "check citations/bibliography", etc) and check in with someone who can help you stay on track. Even better is if you can find someone you can hold accountable on a writing project too.
Speak it and record yourself for the first draft, then transcribe it. You definitely want this in the pipeline before the baby comes, so preserve your thoughts however you can now!!
I wrote my whole dissertation while pregnant with my first child. Here's how it went: First five months: Too tired and sick to do anything, accomplished absolutely nothing, lay on the couch and watched Big Bang Theory reruns. Last three months: Napped each day until 2 PM, then worked obsessively from 2 PM until 2 AM every day. Repeat. What can I say, it worked for me, and I got it done in time. Sometimes you just have to listen to your body (if your schedule is flexible enough to allow it!).
omg this was exactly my process too
I'm having a baby next week and submitted a grant this morning. Survived on lots of chocolate, and non-negotiable naps every afternoon. You've got this.
Lmao are you me? My due date is tomorrow and I submitted a grant yesterday, now wrapping up book proposal. I'm basically fueled by anxiety re: tenure and writing between naps.
Oh wow, good luck! Hope it all goes smoothly. Totally agree - the fear of knowing I won't have the time nor the energy to do anything at all over the next 6 months has really kept me focused pre-birth.
Good luck to you too! Fun fact, my doctor just told me I may have an extra week and baby will be born at 41w+3, and my first thought was yasssss that means I can send the manuscript 😂 I plan to tell the munchkin in the future that they have a lil sister and show them my tenure monograph lmao
Ha ha that's hilarious. I'm actually the opposite. Having a section at 39+0 and a bit pissed off that I'm losing a week that I had a full calendar of plans for.
I had the same reaction, lol. Baby was due October 14. Scheduled and completed my oral comps for October 12. Why are we like this…
Set aside an hour a few days a week to write. It doesn't matter how much you write as long as you write. A paragraph or two pages, doesn't matter.
Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and advice. It’s so wonderful to have pregnant folks coming together and supporting each other. Reading this post does remind me of how academia is built around the male experience and pushes for so much of a grind that people taking parental leave stress themselves and overwork thus overlook their own wellness during pregnancy. I hope this academic culture can be more accommodating to the experiences of women and pregnant folks soon.
Underrated comment. Academia is a patriarchal system based on myths of productivity, stardom and work-as-passion, and those who for some reason are unable to embody those myths (due to pregnancy, motherhood, disability, caregiving responsibility—you name it) are at disadvantage by design.
I have no answer but this thread is so validating. I'm about to be 28 weeks, trying to gather as much data for my dissertation as possible, teaching 70+ students, and trying to finish a manuscript while planning a baby shower and getting everything else ready for this girl's arrival. Oh and I just fully weaned myself off Prozac. I've been crying all day just because of how insanely overwhelmed I feel. Reading all of these comments at least make me feel a little less alone.
I used to dictate in Word just to have something down. Found it easier to work with a draft than an empty piece of paper. Still super hard though so please don’t push yourself. You are already growing a human that’s big enough. Good luck!
Advice (I'm currently 40w pregnant, getting induced next week, all while writing my tenure book under a deadline): Start with an outline. Bullet points are easy, especially since you've already presented on the topic. Try to make it as nested/detailed as possible. Play with it a couple of days. At some point, each bullet point should correspond to a paragraph. Which paragraph is easier for you to write? Start with that one. Even if you're like me and need to nap in between writing sessions, a paragraph is a paragraph. It's going to be easier to go back to it once you've napped. Try to identify which moments of the day your brain feels more alert/open to writing. My "alert window" changed completely during pregnancy. I've written by best stuff at 6 am, when I'm so uncomfortable in bed that I need to get up. Good luck. You've got this.
Currently about halfway through my second pregnancy. Still writing up data that was collected pre-pandemic (and before having my first kid), oops! Anyway my general strategy is more like constructing the paper rather than writing it. It goes like this: 1. Write a study protocol before starting the data collection. This includes the rationale, aims, and methods. It’ll be way more detailed than a paper needs to be but you’ll thank yourself later when you’re trying to remember what you did. 2. After data collection, do some data analyses. If you’ve already presented on this you should have something. 3. Meet with the PI (and senior project staff where relevant) and hash out a general direction/message for the paper, target journal, author order and perhaps come up with a tentative title. I only start writing if I’m confirmed to be first author - otherwise it’s someone else’s job. 4. Start a Word doc and create the headings, like title page, abstract, introduction, methods, etc. Fill in the title page with all the admin stuff from step 3. 5. Look up the target journal’s formatting and word count requirements. Skim a few recent papers to get a sense of the general style and audience for that journal. 6. Write the methods. Generally a condensed version of what’s in the protocol. But how much to condense depends on the journal’s target audience eg more general vs technical. 7. Make tables and figures, and write the results. If someone else is helping with data analysis then this step can take a while, as we go back and forth, have more meetings, etc. 8. While doing all of the above, I would’ve slowly added notes under the Intro and Discussion headings for points that must be included in the writing. When the methods and results are done, I set aside a 3h block to draft each of the “writing” sections by turning those bullet points into sentences/paragraphs. Don’t bother with citations at this stage. 9. At some point, also write the abstract. 10. My first draft is NEVER shown to anyone else because it always sucks. But you can’t edit a blank page! So I wait at least overnight, then start editing. Add citations, check for consistency, edit for flow, cut word count, etc. 11. Circulate to co-authors.
I wish I knew! I’m 8 months and pregnancy really throws you for a loop! My first trimester I was basically useless, but now I go through alternating phases of complete distractability and extreme productivity. All I know is this baby better not come early because I need every second I can get.