TD:D Blog Carnival: Volume 2, Edition 4

Welcome to another edition of the TD:D Blog Carnival!

After this week, Website Wednesday posts will be combined with blog carnival posts on Thursdays.

Enjoy the posts and make sure to check back next week for another edition.

The Writing Life

Sticking Points by Stephen Pressfield

Pressfield offers some great motivational ideas for when you hit the writing wall.  Here’s a sample: “Have you ever hit the wall? I have. Over and over. On any project–I don’t care how dazzlingly it starts out–inevitably the truck runs into a lake of goo.”

Help! I’ve fallen (into my dissertation) and can’t get out! by Lady Scientist

Read about the real experience of a dissertation writer: “Prior to this time, I always laughed at people who said that this was the most painful part of the graduate school process. I mean, how painful could it be?”

Daily Writing

OhLife Is a Self-Referencing and Email-Based Journaling Tool by Jason Fitzpatrick

Need a reminder to write daily?  What about one in your email inbox?

For Fun

Bite-Sized Edits

Ever wish you could get points for your editing?  Now you can hone your revision skills in competition with other writers!  When you sign-up for a free account, you can even add your own texts to get edited…

Epic Win

Want a little extra motivation to get your dissertation to-dos completed?  iphone users can now play this RPG where you level-up as you cross things off your list of things to be done.  Click here to watch a trailer for the app.

The TD:D blog carnival is published weekly on Thursday mornings.

If you would like to submit a post for the TD:D blog carnival, email your link to tododissertation[at]gmail[dot]com by the previous Wednesday at noon.

Website Wednesday: Write Anything

Like a lot of the websites for writers that I’ve discussed on TD:D, Write Anything is not a blog primarily for dissertation writers.  But dissertation writers can learn a lot from fiction writers, so think about checking out some of the following posts:

• Routines and Ruts by Dale Challener Roe: “A routine is good. But a routine shouldn’t be so important that it becomes stifling. Then it’s a rut. Routine brings order to a day. A rut controls it.”

• The Dark Side of Writing by Andrea Allison: “Don’t pay someone to do something that you can do yourself such as editing. You took the time to write it. Therefore, take the time to edit it (this is where writing groups come in handy).”

• Navigating the White Space Below by Claudia: “Revisionitis is a potentially debilitating condition; one that makes the sufferer stare blankly at the blinking, indented cursor for hours at a time while internally battling the overwhelming desire to go back (‘Just a few pages this time, I promise’) and revise what’s already been written rather than forging ahead.”

• Knowing Your Process: Where by Jodi Cleghorn: “I’ve been writing on the hop throughout the day, squeezing this article into the gaps of an unexpected day off with my partner while our son was at school (it happens once in a blue moon!) You could say I’m rather flexible when it comes to the where of writing, but there is more to “where” than just the place you are sitting typing.”

If you find any additional helpful posts at Write Anything, make sure to post them in the comments section below.

TD:D Blog Carnival: Volume 2, Edition 3

Welcome to another edition of the TD:D Blog Carnival!

Enjoy the posts and make sure to check back next week for another edition.

Balance

How to Be Alone by Tanya Davis

Struggling with the isolation that dissertation writing can bring?  Check out this video that provides a positive how-to for being by yourself.

Fear

Four Things You Can Learn From Your Lizard Brain by Tammy

This great article offers tips for how to respond to extreme fear – great for dissertation writers who are experience writing anxiety.

Writing Tips

Writing and Playing by Rob

Interesting post from a dissertation writer who practices “self-banishment” to get his writing done.

Starting a Dissertation Writing Group (In a Writing Center) by Billie Hara.

I’m a firm believer in dissertation writing groups and this great post discusses a lot of the reasons why.  Don’t forget to check out the excellent comments following the post.

Prioritizing

Is Your Dissertation One of Your Big Rocks by Nancy Whichard

Before reading this post, you might want to check out this video.  I love Whichard’s application of the big rocks metaphor to dissertation writing!

PhD Mom – Dissertation Writing by Anonymous

This is actually a series of posts in a forum responding to a woman who asks, in the midst of family responsibilities, “How do I best manage the interviewing schedule and travel for data collection? The writing stage? The space and time needed just to think things out?”

The TD:D blog carnival is published weekly on Thursday mornings.

If you would like to submit a post for the TD:D blog carnival, email your link to tododisseration[at]gmail[dot]com by the previous Wednesday at noon.