Welcome to today's webinar "Writers block & getting through it" with Cassily Charles

If you would like to as Cassily a question please use the Q&A box

if you have any tech issues please let me know here

Good afternoon Mel, Cassily and Nicole

Hi all, Leonard Cohen's hallelujah has been playing in my head for days.

2nd year PhD student, Adelaide, waiting for the rain that's forecast (dog's being silly so I know its coming!)

Hi, I’m Ruth, and I just started my PhD on Lighting Design

Hi I’m Emma, final year nursing phd candidate in Sydney

Libby from South Australia and thank you Cassily for keeping me company while I have been in quarantine the past two weeks.

1st year PhD, researching the regulation of traditional and complementary medicine professions

Yes some but not others, that's the quesion

Jane from Canberra, working on how conceptual metaphors are language, thought and communication.

It is

Hi, I am Desi from Indonesia, 1st year of Phd at QUT, my research topic is post disastee reconstruction

Dave from Perth, 1st year PhD on improving chronic kidney disease outcomes through linked data modelling.

Interesting David, I have an interest in CKD

That's certainly what my writing looks like right now, messy

I am definitely a planner :))

Can you be both?

I am a clear drafter - dump everything and then sort it out after

I just realized that I’m a planner and my supervisors are drafters

Great photo for a Saturday afternoon

what would a halfway point look like?

https://thesiswhisperer.com/2013/03/20/are-you-on-the-same-page-as-your-supervisor/

great advice to be comfortable and own your own process :)

thx Mel

my first step in writing is complete and absolute panic!

which immobilizes me

then I recognize that the world won’t end if I get it wrong

I love the mindmapping process

yes, with the submit button on journals

sometimes if I've put together a really good para

when I flow or get new ideas

Yes, but I feel like I have lost the joy of writing since doing my phd

I am in my 7th year so time might be part of it

I write with a group once a week and that is the best one hour of my writing week

there was a group we were supposed to start from one of your previous seminars

I definitely need this

comparison can be very stressful, especially when i see peers similar to mine has already published a few papers, and I am still working on my confirmation stage ! this can be stressful

Loving the bridges!

that made me smile, thank you

agreed, I should re-adjust my realistic expectations as well

I go through ups and downs

i thought my mind mapping process was weird, that other people didn’t do it. so thank you for sharing that people do have different processes

I have struggled with the process, as I think I was naturally a planner but I feel like I have become more of a drafter because I kept being told to write, write and now I have a huge amount of writing to work out

how many rejects are normal before successful publication

I can't see how can one be just a planner or just a drafter. I plan the main outline, and then draft many times, and then rearrange the planning if required.

I wish I had scaffolding

I take that back, my colleagues have been amazing in the trenches with me

Go to colleagues or supervisors

supervisors

Talking it over with other phD students. Talking helps me.

COVID has created physical barriers for knowing other peers in my campus after I just started PhD

no money

I have joined the OWLS on facebook and they are encouraging and helpful too

yep, got many helps from classmates and flatmate who speak English as the first language

no helpers, i usually work by myself :|

I am interested in this shut up and write group

there's writing group at my school

we have regular meeting every week

I joined an 'unofficial SUAW' group at another university in Canberra and it worked out very well. Mostly part-time people and writing 50 mins per hour daily from 5-9PM. It is working well.

There's also many good video on Youtube talks about writing - https://sites.google.com/view/making-reviews-great-again

Meredith, is it far from UC and welcome new member?

My Dean is Tara Brabazon and she has numerous Vlogs that she does weekly on YouTube

JANE, Very open to new members. And as close as your keyboard.

Oooh lucky you Libby Hammond!! I envy you!

Cool

I write with Tara every week. She is hilarious

I can imagine and I bet you get lots done with all that positive energy

I'll email you to ask for more Meredith, are you still in building 6?

Tara has kept me sane and without her I would not have kept going

I hear you. Give Tara my love. I don't know her but have watched all her vlogs. She is my academic herol.

Will do! Would have loved to have had her as my supervisor because she doesn't hold her students up.

I keep a list handy of itsy bitsy things that I can do when I am brain dead

Yes, the low hanging fruit that is easy to do

Yes, like updating my graduate research study plan (do it when I am brain dead lol)

I tried the storyline idea with my supervisor last week and it worked really well

Yeah, it's a good idea, coz I always do the easier things first, after that I have no time/energy to get the fruits that hunging higher.

Forget to click “To all panelist and attendees”. Does the storyline look like the mind-map?

I have decided to put some of my stories etc into the appendices instead of in my thesis.

Procrasti-cleaning?

funny Nicky

Love it

glad to know that I am not alone experiencing fear and anxious

My principal supervisor stopped responding to my emails, went on long-term service leave and then retired. My co-supervisor left the university for another job. I am still trying to get another supervisor officially appointed and have been given someone but they have never supervised before and don't work in my discipline. They always seek advice from my old principal supervisor but her doesn't respond.

Worry is a big one for me

oh gosh that's tough Harriet.

Harriet that sounds really tough

Harriet - i feel your pain…my principal supervisor doest know much about my research topic as well, which means I need work it out myself

It is hard to write when you are having issues with your supervisor

I am so sorry to hear this. I had to take a day off ... to put our supervisor up for a supervisor's award. She has been great! And is still.

I find that the worry 'appears' in the middle of the night - wake up highly anxious.

My worry comes when I am not working on my PhD

Nicky - i have sleepless nights too

I need to keep reminding myself to be non-judgemental about my writing, because I fixate on the crappy writing and keep trying to work it out rather than pushing on and keep getting words on a page.

It is hard when you are sleeping next to your desk

Jenny - thanks for sharing

That's helpful Jenny and a bit sad Libby - is that because you're still in lockdown

Yes, in quarantine, will sleep away from my desk soon.

:)

In the past July, I worried too much that can't find a job after graduating, and then I talked with my supervisor, my co-supervisor, the head of school, a professor in my school which have had good experiences in my industry.

Not for me, the lockdown has been a bit tough but I felt like I was in lockdown from starting the PhD

PhD =Lockdown

lol

Desensitising?

Good quote from iThinkWell…….embrace your inner crapness (the first draft often is crap), and from Tara B, her first draft is always terrible. Gives me comfort

:-)

great quote

love that quote

iThinkWell, Maria Gardiner and Hugh Kearns

I snap at my kids and I know that I need a break

I have a great swimming pool and I try to get there at 6am, then have a nap in the afternoon. If I don't exercise I fall apart.

I snap at others too

Walk the dog round the block - movement eases the stress but the rhythm of walking helps me think

I went part time because life was throwing me too many curve balls

meditation helps as well

the dogs are always joyful too

dogs rock

greater destressors

dogs smile, dogs rock!

so do chooks

agreed

chooks rock

eggs are nice

absolutely - the pet therapy is gold

actually animals rock

LOL

Dogs are good Meredith to increase mood.

Funny story. I thought my writing was terrible. Then I came across some really well written analysis of the same topic. Actually it wa what I had written a few months before. Since then I do a draft and number it. Finding that great Old stuff was an eye opener.!! Dogs agreed.

What a wonderful story Meredith - what a buzz you must have got from that

That's funny and encouraging Meredith

That is a pearl, Meredith. I am going to remember that!

I miss your dogs, I may ask them about my writing next time :))

I find I do have to push through those feelings even if it is for just for a few minutes and then I find before I know it I have been writing for half an hour

Yep. Give it a date and number. I felt a bit stupid for losing it. But it woke me up. I realised I needed to organise my data a bit better. But that was easy.

that’s a great tip - making smaller steps even in doubt

I love the idea of letting someone know what I did today - just told my husband what I achieved today, felt good!!

Yep Rod said he would remind me :)

Rod says hello Cassily and everyone!

Hey Rod!

hahaaa

I work in different places.

Yes I've moved my desk to about five different rooms in my house over the past seven years

wow!

Big wow!!

such a an inspirational story, Cassily

I got a large monitor.....has been wonderful. Was working from a laptop screen but large screen is unbelievably good

Knowing yourself - your habits, your stressors, your strengths - such good advice, thank you.

I got Dragon Dictate and then I sit back with my feet up and talk to the screen. But I also made a habit change making sub headings. The talking out loud changed the game.

I haven't yet tried voice to text, interesting Meredith. Might check it our.

I have dragon dictate but I didn't persist with it, maybe I should try it again

I talk to others, so your strategy may give them a bit of peace!

It worked well for me. Sometimes I turn it off. But it also stopped wrist stress.

the skeleton with dot points and yes i'm a drafter

No I haven't

I haven't heard about this before

Yes Ive tried free writing and it is great

Yep I’ve tried it and use befocused app for timing

yes I did it

I’ve tried it out

I have tried, but feel like it might be more time consuming looking for and inserting references afterwards

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/be-focused-focus-timer/id973130201

free-writing sounds interesting, will try it

I have tried this one a few times and I then find that my writing turns to academic writing

yes. free writing is like dogs and chooks. it rocks.

Great to get stuff out of your head

I used tomato clock writing 25 min , break 5 min

I like the accountability side of it - meet to write

Thank you Cassily, Mel and Nicole for your quality time. Thanks everyone for your sharing. Cheers. Jane

Thank you everyone

it has been great, many thanks for another wonderful workshop, Cassily! have a great weekend all!

Thank you

This was so helpful. Thank you so much

Thanks for sharing these useful tips

Thank you Cassily and keeping me company in quarantine, hopefully I'll be out on Monday!!

thank you!

Thanks Cassily, Mel and Nicole. Another terrific session.

Thank you very much this was very useful

Thank you this was super practical!

Very helpful policy

Thank you indeed. It has been very helpful.

Thanks to Cassily and everyone for sharing. Very practical strategies.

Will miss you Cassily.

Thanks so much, Cassily

These have been some of the best webinars I've attended. :)