Terry Atkinson, East Carolina University

Johna Faulconer, East Carolina University

Robin Griffith, East Carolina University

Melissa Matusevich, East Carolina University

Elizabeth Swaggerty, East Carolina University 

Colleen Fairbanks, University of North Carolina-Greensboro

Erika Gray, University of North Carolina-Greensboro

Beth Maloch, University of Texas-Austin

Seth Parsons, George Mason University

Practicing What We Preach: Using Writer’s Workshop as a Model for Academic Writing

Purpose for the Session

Recap of Last Year’s NRC Session

Erika Gray

Seth Parsons

But I Don’t Want to Perish: Experienced Researchers Discuss the

Intricacies of Publishing

Our purpose—to increase novice researchers’ understandings of publishing by listening to and interacting with experienced researchers

Objectives of Last Year’s Session

• To discuss the role of publication in the research process (Darrell Morris)

• To demystify the editorial review process (Shelia Valencia)

• To offer insight into the elements reviewers use to evaluate submissions (Beth Maloch)

Key Advice

• Collaborate with colleagues. • Persist; everyone gets rejected.• Know the journal.• Determine your most productive writing

time.• Be clear and have thorough definitions

for all research terms.

Outcomes• An overall sense of relief that even

Dr. P. David Pearson has been rejected

• Encouraged colleagues at ECU to form a writing group

“I hate writing, but I love having written.”

-Dorothy Parker

Conception of the Group

NRC Aha• Maloch’s breakout session led to this

important question:“Why would you personally employ a writing practice that you know was non-productive for your own students?”

Soul Searching and Self Reflection

Maloch’s question continued to surface, leading me to…1. Examine my prior publication record2. Identify my needs

• Take control of my research agenda• Refine my research focus• Set definite goals• Commit to writing more regularly

Formulating a Plan

• Needed support of colleagues• Sought to serve as a mentor for other

female colleagues• Planned a one-semester experiment …

small group committed to daily writing • Mutual benefit would result for all group

members

Selecting Writing Group Members

• Small size—four additional colleagues• Members selected carefully

– All were untenured junior faculty– All had exhibited great self-confidence as

individuals and as emerging scholars– All had proven track records through prior

collaboration…energy, commitment, effort– All chose to participate for one semester

More Than Mere Colleagues

Group members—not only women, but my friends– Degree of trust and rapport intact– Individuals known to move beyond their own

self-interests– All had strengths that I did not possess– All had demonstrated sound judgment and

exceptional initiative

Existing Trust and Belief in Group Members Led to…

…one common commitment—daily writing– No plan for the group—writer’s workshop was

used as a framework– Guidelines and choices to be made by group

members– Evolution of the group based on our needs

Sharing Our Story

• Related literature• Methodology• Themes• Telementor support• Collective accomplishments• Building a context for success• Lessons learned

Writer’s Workshop Approach

• Daily writing is imperative for young writers. (Calkins, 1994, Graves, 1983)

• In order for the young writer to gain momentum, she must be given opportunities to spend time with the piece regularly.

Adult Writing

• The same is true for adult writers. Like athletes, writers need consistent, intense, and focused practice sessions, working to build their writing muscles with regular workouts. (Goldberg, 1986; Murray, 1990)

• Donald Murray (1990) – “Nulla dies sine linea.” (p. 43).

• Parini (2005) – “A little work every day adds up.” (p. B5)

Adult Writing• Within professional circles, women are

often unsupportive of one another. (Chesler, 2001)

• The value of a professional learning community. (Palmer, 1998; Senge, Cambron-McCabe, Lucas, Smith, Dutton, & Kleiner, 2000)

• Potential of a professional learning community comprised of a group of women who support one another to gain “more pleasure and productivity in their writing lives”. (Grant, 2006, p. 483)

Methodology

• Collective autoethnography—(Clandin & Connelly, 2000; Coles, 1989; Ellis, 2004)

• Data sources

Themes

• Living the writerly life• The power of the group• Collective accomplishments and

successes• Building a context for success

Theme: Living the Writerly Life

Making writing a priority leads to more consistent writing.

“I have done more writing in the past two months than in the past two years!”

Living the Writerly LifeWriting is a process that takes time, involves many revisions, and sometimes results in rejections.

Living the Writerly Life

A writer’s life ebbs and flows between peaks and valleys.

“I’m freaking out a bit because I haven’t written and now other things have shifted into the top spots in terms of my time …like my annual report. Ugh. How’s everyone else doing?”

Living the Writerly LifeWriters talk about writing with other writers.

Theme: The Power of the GroupA network of support

“At long last the baby is about to be birthed. Yes, this means I will have submitted not one but TWO articles this week. Considering I have been working on both of them for a year, it is about time! After all, human gestation is only nine months. I cannot adequately express how much our writing group has helped me. I am already planning my next article and a new study. Thanks for supporting my work. It means more to me than you could ever imagine.”

The Power of the Group• Moving the group forward

– Accountability“I enjoy writing, but it’s hard to make it a priority. This group is really holding me accountable, in subversive kind of way. I feel like when we meet each week, I need to say I’ve either made progress or I’ve worked so many hours or I’ve done something or I’ll just really be coming to the meeting with my tail between my legs.”

Moving the Group Forward

• Momentum• Positive peer pressure/competitiveness

The Power of the Group

Trust

Sharing your writing is like running naked through the park.

The Power of the Group

Increasing confidence as writers

“Adopting this writer’s workshop model, with the weekly group reporting to keep me honest, allowed me to once again “live in the moment” (thank you Eckhart Tolle) of writing again. In doing so, I can now be more objective and reflective about how I became so estranged from a process that I typically enjoy and have been rather successful with products that I am proud of.”

Theme: Collective Accomplishments & Successes

• Tangible outcomes– Total hours spent writing = 380– Average writing hours per week = 7– Manuscript submissions = 18– Accepted publications = 9 – Conference presentations = 19

• Refinement of research agendas

Theme: Building a Context for Success

• Commitment to the group• Focused meetings• Writing workshop format• Writing logs• Reasonable next steps

Lessons Learned

• Identifying barriers• Making writing a priority• Talking about writing• Dealing with the “monkeys”• Whole > than the sum of its parts• Running naked through the park

ReferencesCalkins, L. (1994). The art of teaching writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Chesler, P. (2001). Woman’s inhumanity to woman. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press/Nation Books. Goldberg, N. (1986). Writing down the bones: Freeing the writer within.

Boston, MA: Shambhala. Grant, B. M. (2006). Writing in the company of other women: Exceeding the boundaries. Studies in Higher Education, 31, 483-495. Graves, D. H. (1983). Writing: Teachers and children at work. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Murray, D. M. (1990). Shoptalk: Learning to write with writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Palmer, P. (1998). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Parini, J. (2005). The considerable satisfaction of 2 pages a day. Chronicle of Higher Education, 51, B5. Senge, P., Cambron-McCabe, N., Lucas, T., Smith, B., Dutton, J. & Kleiner, A. (2000). Schools that learn: A fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents, and everyone who cares about education. New York: Doubleday.