at a randomly chosen point in the chapter and ask readers
to explain what the structure of the argument is and how far
they have come in it. Will they be able to give a reasonably
easy and assured answer? If the answer is no, strengthen the
signposting in the text, review the headings and
subheadings again, and try to tighten up the structure and
make it as simple and straightforward for readers to access as
possible.Organizing the writing process
Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite,
‘Fool,’ said my Muse to me, ‘look in thy heart, and
write.’
Sir Philip Sidney^14I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m
inspired at nine o’clock every morning.
Peter de Vries^15Your experience of the writing process can become unnecessarily
off-putting if you do not approach it in the right way. Writing
is difficult to do, and most of us tend to put off doing hard
things for as long as possible. I often think of multiple tasks
that I must complete before I can even try to bang out words on
screen or put pen to paper. Perhaps I start what was meant to
be a writing session but then find some displacement activity,
like following up scholarly references, or doing a word-level
edit of last week’s writing, which allows me to wriggle away
from starting new writing. After a few less productive sessions
like this, I can end up writing hard against a deadline – which is
far more stressful than starting in good time and trying to con-
sistently rack up some words. Repeat this experience a dozen
times and it can quickly become habit-forming. Nothing useful
gets written except when a deadline really looms. So the new
writing process becomes inextricably associated in your mind
with high-pressure working. In turn this link reinforces the ten-
dency to postpone getting started on it, like putting off going to
the dentist. There is no magic cure for these common problems.
148 ◆AUTHORING A PHD