During the months of September and October, the Howe Center for Writing Excellence hosted  two separate sets of writing hours for two distinct populations of writers on Miami's campus: graduate students and junior faculty.

These writing hours were developed in response to a survey issued during the latest spring semester in which faculty and graduate students identified a need for a space to write, yet felt isolated by the task of writing alone. Thus, the primary goal for the HCWE’s writing hours was to establish a community of practice for these populations of writers–many of whom are currently working towards tenure or thesis and dissertation completion–and provide a space for uninterrupted and focused writing time. The intention, backed up by research and best practices, was to reinforce the collaborative and social aspects of writing to encourage and empower writers to work towards their goals.

The graduate writing hours, designed by HWC graduate writing consultants from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, were held both in-person and online via Zoom. Over the eight sessions held throughout October, 12 individual students took part in the graduate writing hours challenge. Donuts and coffee, as well as drop-in consultations with experienced graduate consultants, were also offered to attendees.

Graduate students who participated in the writing hours found themselves steeped in the graduate community, where they found dedicated and focused writing time and a community prepared to engage in scholarly discussion. With a built-in break for attendees to chat about progress and an emphasis on placing and sharing goals, attendees were able to work through their struggles and celebrate their accomplishments as a group.

Junior faculty writing hours, led by HWC Graduate Assistant Directors Emma Boddy and Claire Metzger, were just as well-attended; over the course of six weeks, 18 faculty participated in writing hours and committed time to their writing. Faculty worked on articles, books, conference proposals, and other projects which could advance their professional and career development. Faculty particularly found the structured writing time to be of immense value. “Regularly scheduled time for writing was most helpful,” wrote one survey respondent. “Writing usually gets pushed to the wayside if I need to get other things done (teaching prep, advising, meetings), so it was really helpful to have my schedule blocked off.”

Other faculty found that the experience encouraged them to look at writing in different ways. “After the first session I was a bit frustrated with myself because I hadn't been literally writing for 90 minutes,” wrote one attendant. “But as I did more sessions I realized that so much of the writing process is not the actual typing. It's spending a lot of time thinking, or looking up sources, or analyzing data.”

Junior faculty were challenged to attend at least four sessions over the course of six weeks. The following faculty completed the challenge:

• Sara Acevedo, Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology
• Adam Strantz, Assistant Professor, English and Emerging Technology in Business & Design
• So Young Lee, Assistant Professor, English
• Kevin Reuning, Assistant Professor, Political Science
• Anne Whitesell, Assistant Professor, Political Science
• Michael Hatch, Assistant Professor, Art
• Kathleen Kollman, Visiting Assistant Professor, Media, Journalism, and Film
• Jacob Lassin, Visiting Assistant Professor, Media, Journalism, and Film

Congratulations to all who completed the writing hours challenge!

The HCWE hopes that even more faculty and graduate students will elect to participate in writing hours in the future.