At the start of a new year, many people set goals to work toward. We asked our staff at the HCWE and our writing consultants what strategies they use to work toward their writing goals. Our aim in sharing these is to help Miami writers develop systems which they can put into practice to achieve their personal, educational, or professional goals.

The following individuals contributed strategies for this compilation:

• Josh Louis, Communications Coordinator for the HCWE
• Dr. Mandy Olejnik, Assistant Director of Writing Across the Curriculum at the HCWE
• Dr. Elizabeth Wardle, Director of the HCWE
• Dr. Lizzie Hutton, Director of the Howe Writing Center
• Ahjah Johnson, Writing Consultant with the Howe Writing Center

If You Don’t Know Where to Start, try Editing, Brainstorming, or Outlining

“There’s nothing more frustrating than staring at a blank page and a blinking cursor, not knowing where to start,” writes Josh Louis. “One of the things I like to do is start by editing something I wrote the day prior. It refreshes me on what I worked on and serves as a reminder for what still needs to come.” Brainstorming and outlining can also be of great help, as they can provide direction throughout the writing process.

Writing Does Not Have to Be a Linear Process

Often writers can fall into the trap that they have to write from beginning to end, but this is rarely how the process pans out. “Academic writing is very linear and logical, but I never write in a straight line,” says Dr. Lizzie Hutton, “which is to say: I write a messy first draft, and then reorganize it a lot to get my argument straight. I reverse outline, play with new structures, and keep ‘stepping back’ from the text to keep the ‘macro’ in my head as well as the ‘micro.’ I write and rewrite an ‘abstract’ (even if I won't use one eventually) so I can articulate and commit to what I believe the larger pieces of the argument are.”

The same can be said for creative writing; every writer will have a different process which works for them, so it’s worth experimenting and finding the process which helps you effectively work toward finishing that first draft. “I have written short stories in the past where I know how the story begins, how the story ends, and almost nothing else in between,” writes Josh Louis. “Sometimes it can be empowering and motivating to write parts of a story or a paper which excite you in the moment, rather than forcing yourself to write in a linear fashion, from beginning to end. If it feels disjointed as a result, well, that’s where revision and editing come into play.”

Try to Write Every Day–At Least a Little Bit

It will take time for something to become routine or habit, so make sure you give yourself the time to let it happen–especially until the first draft is complete. “I believe in flow. When I’m working to produce a draft, I try to stay in that flow by engaging with the work at least every day,” writes Dr. Lizzie Hutton. “Writing requires one to hold a lot in one's mind at once. It's exhausting to have to restart the car every time you sit down to write.”

Break Up Large Tasks into Smaller Chunks

If large projects like research papers seem a bit overwhelming, breaking the task up into smaller chunks or sections can be a helpful way to make meaningful progress toward completing your piece of writing. Dr. Elizabeth Wardle uses this technique in her own writing. “Mostly I work from a ‘set your intention’ approach, where I set my mind on a project long-term, and then start setting small, manageable goals toward it so that I am always making steady progress, even if it is very small steps,” she says. “When the next small goal is met, I set another one.” Wardle also notes that the next small goal may not be writing it all; it could be something like a meeting with a collaborator or revisiting previous work for edits.

Take Advantage of “Wait Times”

Dr. Mandy Olejnik finds that taking advantage of what she calls “waiting times” is incredibly helpful for working toward writing goals, like when you arrive early for appointments or you are waiting in line to get a cup of coffee. “I fire up [an] app on my phone and just let myself write freely for whatever period of time I have,” she wrote. “Five minutes here and there might not seem like much, but over a week, it can add up and you can add to your running word count. You might also find that you actually like what you wrote, too!”

Try Writing in Different Locations

After you have established your writing habits and systems, it might seem a bit dull to write in the same location every single day. Instead of forcing yourself to write in the same place at the same time, you can make things much more interesting by writing in different locations. “Trying new locations and coffee shops when I feel less motivated spices things up a bit,” writes Ahjah Johnson. “If there is wifi and an outlet, the space (in my opinion) is fair game.”

Find a Support Group or Writing Community

Writing and collaborating with other writers in your community can make all the difference when it comes to motivating yourself and building habits. “I have a support group of peers that I write with for one hour every morning,” writes Ahjah Johnson. “Writing in community has been my survival to the PhD.”

Writing support groups can also aid in the proofreading and revision stages of draft writing. Dr. Lizzie Hutton writes that it is critical to give your draft to readers for other reasons. “Feedback is obviously crucial for revising. But handing things to readers has also always felt just psychologically healthy,” she writes. “Even though it's scary when something is fresh and somewhat unformed, handing it off is a great way to give myself a deadline--just to finish something, anything, no matter how puny--and to get it off my desk/laptop for a bit of time. It's a relief!”

Writing Hours are a testament to the effectiveness of writing in a community, and the Howe Center for Writing Excellence schedules regular writing hours for graduate students and faculty. Writing hours for graduate students will return for Spring 2023, so be sure to keep an eye out for information.

The Only Way to Fail is to Give Up

This advice can be applied to just about any goal you have set for yourself, whether it is a long-term goal or a short-term goal (but especially for the long-term goals). There will be times when you don’t perform to your self-prescribed standards. This is an inevitability. Even a small amount of progress is still progress, so be kind to yourself and don’t let minor setbacks keep you from taking another step forward.

The Howe Center for Writing Excellence provides Miami students and faculty with ways to leverage these strategies in their writing processes. Whether you need an additional pair of eyes on your work or you want to join a supportive writing community, the HCWE is here to support your writing efforts for 2023.