Writing is a time consuming process for me. The process is not necessarily draining as sometimes writing is cathartic - you should see some of my unpublished posts. It just takes me a while to get going.

The process is time consuming because I’m an editor. I can ‘word vomit’ ideas in my head or verbally, but getting them on paper is tedious. I wordsmith, add, subtract, tweak, edit, massage, and connect as I go. I can’t just write and go back. I don’t share or submit drafts (see unpublished posts above). I don’t have drafts – I have a final product from the start. Although, I would guess my professors think I should have more drafts and sometimes they are right.

To help get unstuck I’m getting ideas out of my head before getting into dissertation proposal edits. Procrastinating perhaps, cleaning for sure, greasing the wheels hopefully.

LRSA soccer ideas – out

Fitness commitments – planned for April

Two year professional development plans (started ~ACPA 2012) – refined

Work ideas – on my calendar for Monday

In this process I’m committing myself to writing 500 words a day. Some of it will hopefully be a blog post – my inconsistency drives me nuts. I’m not sure I write anything worth reading. I know the mantra of write for you – but the two year professional development plan lingers in my head as a degree of unpolished vulnerability.

Much of my writing must be doctorally oriented. In process now: two interview write ups (law and leadership), research paper, law case study, and my dissertation proposal. To get this done my writing volume will have to be WAY more that 500 words a day. I think part of the struggle of my doctoral writing is my process of wordsmithing, adding, subtracting, tweaking, editing, massaging, and especially connecting as I go. Sometimes the ideas are viable and interesting but they don’t connect to the task at hand – they become an unfinished, highly appealing tangent.

If the tangent gets out of my head it sometimes survives as a draft post on my blog. To help tie off some tangents I’m going back through my draft blog posts to see if there is anything worth salvaging. Some are quick question prompts meant to return to later, some are half-to-full posts whose time has passed, some are complete posts I’m too fearful to share for some reason or another. I’m deleting all but one as no longer viable. There are however some lines I would like to keep out of the digital graveyard. I share them below as a place for me to find them again. Maybe they will become  finished, highly appealing tangents but at least they are out and not lingering.

I can’t do it. I can’t achieve balance. Time to re-think with an eye towards integration.

I’m writing now to get unstuck. (April 1, 2012 – funny)

You are not my kids. You are my students.

I’m weary of teaching leadership as a post hoc to stupidity and irresponsible behavior.

I’ve gone back three times to tweak this post but mostly this is words on ‘paper’ from head to hands. Need for procrastination: gone. Mind and blog: cleansed. Wheels greased, hopefully. Time to edit my dissertation proposal. Words complete: 533.

Make it a good day. 539.