The Social Scientist's Soapbox by Karen Sternheimer

Author:Karen Sternheimer [Sternheimer, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General
ISBN: 9781351676885
Google: dSEvDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-07-31T03:27:29+00:00

Keep Your Momentum Going

If you have ever run a long race, you know you are probably not going to sprint the whole way. At some points you jog, at other points you walk. The same goes for writing—you can even keep your momentum going without writing every day.

One of the easiest ways to make steady progress is to figure out where you will start at your next writing session before finishing for the day. This is also great if you’re stuck; you can start with a particular subject next time, and hopefully you won’t be stuck when that time comes.

But what if you are stuck the next time? So stuck that you dread writing again so much that you put it off? Since we are not novelists who have to invent characters and plotlines, we have the benefit being able to do more background research. This might mean we do a little more reading. I mentioned earlier that a common anxiety I have is that I don’t know enough about a topic to write on it. Getting back into the literature can work on two levels: it can help you learn more, or it can reassure you that you have just as much, or more, to say as others who have written on the topic. Or it may just provide a needed mental break or inspiration to keep going.

In his book on writing, Howard Becker also suggests giving a talk on stuff you are still working through, either in a class or at a conference.13 Having to prepare for a talk might help you figure things out that you would not have in the writing process. You can always use being stuck as an opportunity to speak to a colleague or mentor or other person you consider to be a useful sounding board. This person does not need to be a social scientist; sometimes it might even be better if they are not and part of the lay audience you hope to reach. By having to verbalize your thoughts you might break your own impasse; and maybe someone will have a helpful suggestion.

Let me be clear: not all suggestions are helpful. They might pull you off course, or draw you in directions that your sounding board is interested in but you are not. It’s okay to leave other people’s suggestions alone. Sometimes just talking about ideas can be helpful; sometimes realizing that other people’s advice isn’t right helps you figure out where to go (or at least where not to go).

If you still find yourself stuck, think about other related tasks you can do that don’t involve writing. As a practice, I don’t like to stop the flow of writing to format endnotes. An off day is a good time to go through endnotes or start a bibliography file and format that correctly. You’ll be glad you did all that tedious work someday when you are close to turning in your manuscript and it is already done.

Think of all the

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