October 13, 2025

But some of us sincerely want to jump start our writing: to kick out that article, op-ed or finish that dissertation.  For some of us, the passion of research and writing is a respite from the political swirling around us, a way to replenish the soul, to do something that feels normal in these perilous times.

If you want to jump start your writing this semester, it’s now time to create a writing practice, with accountability, to  meet your long-term goals.  My goalis to remind you that there is pleasure in  making progress, and to help you recover that feeling.  So how can we make writing fun?  Or fun again? In the midst of a long project, sometimes we forget that writing can and should be fun.  In this column, I want to focus on helping you rediscover the joy in process of writing.    

To re-create a sense of joy from the writing itself, I suggest you remember why  you are writing. The underlying big reason.   If your first answer is  “because I have to” finish my course, thesis, dissertation, article, or book”  well  that’s a great start but not a deeply reflective answer. You have just pushed the question back to a deeper level: why did you choose the topic about which you are now writing?   Taking the time to remind yourself just why you are writing about this may seem like yet another procrastination tool. But give it a try.   At some point you thought your topic was fascinating, or at least important.  You wanted to think, research and write about it.  Take the time to excavate that feeling.  Why did you start the project?  Why is it important beyond your obligation to finish it?    I tell all my graduate students and emphasize in my  Writing Retreats community that you must be passionate about your topic when you begin because you will be married to it for years to come.  Passion may fade, as in marriage, but the memory of it should last and bolster your resolve especially if you  write about what you deeply care about.  If you don’t care about your topic,  your writing will not convince anyone else to do so.  So take the time, when you are having trouble writing, to remind yourself why you started this project. What makes it worth your precious time, or the precious time of your imagined reader? Perhaps you care about your topic because the world will explode unless this problem is solved.  Maybe you have experienced micro-aggressions throughout your life, and you want to study the effects of a policy designed to decrease racism.  Perhaps you have been reading scientific articles about a disease for nearly a decade and have identified something fundamentally wrong with the current analysis and you hope to prove one missing piece of the puzzle.  I can’t imagine your reason for writing, but you must remember why to do it well.  

Here are a few steps that might help you rekindle the intrinsic joy of  writing.

1. Write yourself a series of positive affirmations about the project. Remind yourself why you are doing this. Why is it important? Who cares? What are you contributing to?  Read those affirmations every day before you begin to write.
2. Imagine your audience reading your contribution
3. Envision  how  satisfied you will be when the project is finished
4. Envision what might change because of your writing
5. Remember, also, that life is a journey, not a destination.  A life well lived involves both producing a product and finding satisfaction in doing so.

These  prompts  should help you find something to look forward to for the hours you spend writing.   We only live once, and my philosophy as a writing coach is to help you bring joy to your writing.  The best way to be a successful writer is to have a good time as you do what needs to be done.   Remember, also, that life is a journey, not a destination.  A life well lived involves both producing a product and finding satisfaction in doing so.

I will be sharing strategies every month on this blog.  Watch for new posts, or sign up below to receive them in your inbox.  

Perhaps you want more personal coaching.  The Writing Guides is now expanding our coaching services.  Next month  I will begin  offering  personal consultations about writing.   Would you like to understand the difference between structural and line editing, and develop a strategy for successful revisions?  Do you need help envisioning your audience and choosing the right medium for your writing products?  Are you struggling to structure an academic journal article? Do you need help getting rid of all those extra words that take up space you do not have?  You can schedule personal zoom consultations on these or other topics of interest.

Perhaps your draft is done and what you need now is help with structural editing>  Perhaps English isn’t your first language, and you’d like serious line editing that doesn’t erase your voice as AI will.   You can register for our editorial services.   But first let me introduce myself to those who do not know me.  

Meet your new writing coach!  I am a  recently retired  Distinguished Professor of Sociology in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  I retired from the University of Illinois at Chicago but not from my work as a sociologist and writing consultant.  I am   currently living in Delmenhorst Germany as a Fellow at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study.  I am the most recent past Editor of the journal Gender & Society, which became the top-ranked journal in both sociology and gender studies during my term.  I write  both her academic audiences,  including my  latest book, Where the Millennials Will Take Us and  for a public audience  including editorials  in the Seattle Times, CNN.com and Raleigh News & Observer.  I have  taught writing classes to graduate students at UIC and to graduate students and faculty at universities throughout Europe, including the University of Valencia, University of Trento, the VU in Amsterdam, and the University of Genoa.

The Writing Guides hosts face-to-face and online  writing workshops for departments at colleges at universities across the world and  soon will be hosting in person writing retreats.  Reach out  to us at  thewritingguides@gmail.com.   And read more about The Writing Guides at  http://www.thewritingguides.org