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The four rules of writing your thesis
Roger Watson
Why do you want to write?
Academic obligationCareer progressionPrestige of your institutionTo share research findingsTo disseminate good practiceMoney
Because you enjoy it?
Overcoming the barrier
Behind every written piece there is a living, breathing human being who overcame his or her own challenges to express important thoughts on paper
Dale Salwak (THE)
What is the main barrier to writing?
How to be a writer
If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way round these two things…no shortcut.
Stephen King
Being a writer
I learned to write by writing
Professionalism comes from being able to write on a bad day
Norman Mailer
Application to the job of writing
Apply the seat of your pants to the seat of a chair and don’t get up until you’ve written something.
Beaverbrook
Application
Learn to write anywhere and everywhere
• Office
• Home
• Trains
• Planes
• Hotels
Keep a note book
Some don’ts
Don’t think about it
Don’t tell anyone about it
Don’t wait for inspiration
…just do it!
Just do it
You can edit a bad page….
…you can’t edit a blank page
Inspiration
Inspiration is the act of drawing the chair up to the writing table.
Orhan Pamuk
Inspiration
Instead of planning or talking about your plan, I say, just get something out on paper before you forget it – no matter how uncertain you feel or how confusing it sounds.
I also suggest that (you) write the first draft before (you) do any research.
Rarely do we know what we’re going to write about until we’ve completed a first, stumbling draft
Dale Salwak (THE)
The four rules of writing
Read the guidelines
Set realistic targets and count words
Seek criticism
Treat a rejection as the start of the next submission
Journal guidelines
Journal guidelines
Or take a look at other theses in your university
Journal guidelines
Length
Layout
Organisation
Referencing system
Setting targets
All good writers do this
Try to write a specific number of words per day or every time you sit down to write
When you have reached your target…STOP!
Setting targets
Set daily targets, stick to them and give yourself plenty of rewards afterwards. The people who succeed are those who treat it like a job…
Phillip Hodson (THE)
Seeking criticism
Find a ‘critical friend’
Seek criticism of your writing
NOT THIS
OR THIS
THIS
Expect to have several revisions
…I’m one of the world’s greatest rewriters
James Mitchener
Learn when to let go
Edited by Karen Holland and Roger Watson
An invaluable guide on writing for publication, enabling
the reader to develop skills in writing articles,
book reviews and other forms of publications, written by experts in the
field.
September 2012, 288 pages
ISBN: 9780470657829
£19.99 / €25.90 / $32.95Order online at www.wiley.com
Prefer digital? Visit your e-book retailer to order
Writing for Publication in Nursing and Healthcare:Getting It Right
