Pathways Through Writing Blocks in the Academic Environment
Writing blocks are likely to strike any writer, even experienced ones, at sometime or another. Academia has its own challenges which can provoke blocks particular to that environment. Drawing on her knowledge as writer, psychotherapeutic counsellor and un
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Pathways Through Writing Blocks in the Academic Environment
Kate Evans MA www.writingourselveswell.co.uk
A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-94-6209-241-9 (paperback) ISBN: 978-94-6209-142-9 (hardback) ISBN: 978-94-6209-242-6 (e-book)
Published by: Sense Publishers, P.O. Box 21858, 3001 AW Rotterdam, The Netherlands https://www.sensepublishers.com/
Printed on acid-free paper
All Rights Reserved © 2013 Sense Publishers No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword: Dr Linda Finlay
vii
Acknowledgements
xi
Introduction Orienteering: Finding a Starting Point for Our Pathway Through Our Writing Block
1
1. Entering the Labyrinth: The “Creative Process” and the “Creative Attitude” in Academic Writing
9
2. Hazardous Ground: The Relational and Emotional Aspects of Writing Blocks within the Academic Environment
37
3. A Viewpoint: The Craft of Gaining Perspective in Academic Writing
55
4. Finding the Story: The InterPlay Between Narrative and Writing Blocks
69
5. Academic Writing: New Approaches: Conventions and New Approaches in Academic Writing — How They Impact Writing Blocks
83
6. Creative Academic Writing: How “Creative” Techniques Can Facilitate Academic Writing
101
7. Case Studies: Experiences of Writing Blocks Within the Academic Environment
115
Conclusion: A Place to Rest
137
Appendix: The Gestalt Cycle
139
References
141
Index
147
v
DR LINDA FINLAY
FOREWORD
As I sit down to write this, I’m aware of my own hesitation, my reluctance, to begin the process of setting down words. Part of me is enjoying the irony of encountering writer’s block while preparing a foreword to a book dealing with that very problem. Then I remember Kate Evans’s counsel that writing, as a creative process with an emotional component, always requires time. I urge myself to pause, to reflect… I see myself walking down a corridor. There is a door to my right; I open it and I enter a room full of people. Their voices sing out in chorus: “You’re only an academic — you can’t write! Who do you think you are, writing an introduction to a book on writing? Don’t let Kate down; this is too important to mess up! You’re not going to be able to do justice to her work.” …Feeling sick in my stomach, I look for a way out. There is a door opposite. I crack it open cautiously. To my relief, I’m greeted with a friendly, reassuring chorus: “You know you can write, Linda — you’ve written loads of books and articles! Kate invited you, so she believes in you. What an honour! Do it for her! You know what you want — and need — to say, so just say it!” Then I hear Kate’s voice: “Give yourself time t
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