Hi Farrah,

I am sure that everyone has a different approach. My approach is to spend a lot of time, before even writing one word, thinking of what I want the paper to look like from beginning to end. I write out an outline of what I want say, and I then fill in the details as I go.

As far as motivation goes, I think that differs for every person. I happen to be self-motivated, so writing papers is not a problem. I do have colleagues that this is a problem for them, and they struggle to find the motivation necessary to get through their research - let alone the actual writing of the manuscript.

In regards to work-life balance, I suppose it is up to you to set boundaries and expectations. It is easy to get sucked into academic life (as well as any other work life). A professor of mine a long time ago made the following brilliant statement "work is not life, life is life." I try and keep that in mind when I get sucked into overworking myself.

I am sure others have different approaches to meeting these challenges...

Ariel

What sort of writing are you referring to? Writing an article for a peer-reviewed publication in research is vastly different than writing a novel. And what sort of momentum are are you referring to? Please clarify.

Hi Ariel,

I mean scientific writing for peer review publication. Momentum in terms of our self-motivation and a work-life balance. :)

I hope this helps as I have the same problem, also view attached file:

Overcoming Writer's Block and Procrastination for Attorneys, Law Students, and Law Professors:

Rasch, D. A., & Rasch, M. (2013). Overcoming Writer's Block and Procrastination for Attorneys, Law Students, and Law Professors. New Mexico Law Review, 43, 13-15.

Overcoming Writer's Block

Heller, J. (1997). Overcoming Writer's Block. Grand Valley Review, 16(1), 20.

Rigid rules, inflexible plans, and the stifling of language: A cognitivist analysis of writer's block:

Rose, M. (1980). Rigid rules, inflexible plans, and the stifling of language: A cognitivist analysis of writer's block. College Composition and Communication, 389-401.

Hi Farrah,

I am sure that everyone has a different approach. My approach is to spend a lot of time, before even writing one word, thinking of what I want the paper to look like from beginning to end. I write out an outline of what I want say, and I then fill in the details as I go.

As far as motivation goes, I think that differs for every person. I happen to be self-motivated, so writing papers is not a problem. I do have colleagues that this is a problem for them, and they struggle to find the motivation necessary to get through their research - let alone the actual writing of the manuscript.

In regards to work-life balance, I suppose it is up to you to set boundaries and expectations. It is easy to get sucked into academic life (as well as any other work life). A professor of mine a long time ago made the following brilliant statement "work is not life, life is life." I try and keep that in mind when I get sucked into overworking myself.

I am sure others have different approaches to meeting these challenges...

Ariel

Thanks a lot Daryn and Ariel..

Great sharing Ariel... may I know how long does it take for you to prepare one çamera-ready' paper? Do you normally set the dateline or you just write as you go? 

"Work is not life, Life is life"... I like that!

:)

Here are a few more sources, I hope you find them useful :)

For a more psychological slant on the writing process, try the books by Paul J. Silvia. I found How To Write A Lot especially helpful. 

Hi Farrah,

Each paper has its own lifespan, depending on how involved it is (ie does it require data analysis, or simulation, or is it a thought-piece). I have some papers that have taken me over a year to write because I spent a lot of time thinking about the conceptual framework for the paper, analyzing the data, and then writing the manuscript. In fact, the paper I am working on right now has been in the works for 6 months, but the original idea was conceived four years ago).

I purposely do not put time limits on my papers because I feel that constrains the thought process, and limits creativity, and most importantly, takes the fun out it. I do enjoy writing papers, and I want it to remain fun - while intellectually challenging,

I hope this helps

Ariel

Hi Farrah,

In writing scientific papers, writing experience and the knowledge of your research project matter. When you have both, it becomes easier to plan and write it. The first paper is always the hardest to write, especially the 'Discussion section (for me)'. When I encountered 'writer's block', I usually went for brainstorming with my advisor or other people who has much more experience. That was what I dealt with it, and I always walked away with some good idea. My motivation was that to publish a couple of papers so I can find a job in the future.

Thanks @ Farrah Aini Dahalan for a good question, and @ Ariel Linden for his comments, and for  "work is not life, life is life."  - it made my day.

Time from an initial idea to the research completion can vary a lot - from several months to a couple of years. Article / patent writing usually takes me from a couple of weeks to a couple of months. I used to have a time gap (a couple of weeks) between the research completion and writing to think through the most clear, concise, and convincing way to convey achieved results in a logical and objective manner. Sometimes, it requires to perform additional work on clarifying arguments for the discussion / conclusion / claims parts.

As far as motivation is concerned, if your research is a labor of love and a matter of serious responsibility, one is quite well motivated to get writing in the best professional manner.

Work/life balance is sometimes skewed towards the work, but the family reverses it back without further ado.