Ellis Act evictions in San Francisco. Source: Anti-Eviction Mapping Project
Welcome to Week 3 of Fall Writes! For writing advice this week, check out Erin Wunker’s post, “On Writing and Paying Attention,” at Hook and Eye. And maybe also check out Cathleen Medwick’s post on “How to Silence Your Inner Critic” on Oprah if that seems like it might be useful to you. (Suggesting for a friend!)
And without further ado, our weekly goals:
Goals
Nicole
This week I just want to get through reading all the policy reports and adding my notes from that and from other responses as part of this R and R as margin comments in the article manuscript (pre-changes). Side comments will allow me to think through which of the changes I want to and can make rather than messing up the whole *-ing thing/ losing clarity.
Dan
For this week, my goals are as follows: seven hours of work Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, an hour during lunch Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and two hours Monday and Wednesday evenings for a total of forty, including teaching. At least half an hour of work on the book manuscript, Sunday-Friday. No work next Sunday (instead of Saturday, because Sunday is full of fun events). In terms of concrete goals, I need to get a course proposal out to Dr. Karen so that I can get some feedback on it before a big-deal postdoc deadline rolls around, and I will most likely get comments back from her on a job letter, which I will then need to turn around. I also need to review some interview transcripts for Staring Out to Sea, the oral history project for which my digital humanities students will be working to build a website.
Matt
This week I need to finish revising an article draft by Friday night, so I can send it to my department writing group. My goal today is to spend five hours revising one section of the article of the article that I’ve been struggling with.On Thursday and Friday I want to spend about eight hours each cleaning up some of the clumsy transitions and underdeveloped paragraphs. On Saturday and Sunday, I want to spend about four hours each day continuing to take notes on the documents I brought back from a recent research trip.
Meg
Goals for the week:
1. Complete “institutional circuits” chapter by end of the day tomorrow (Weds.).
2. Spend Thursday and Friday finishing an outline of my probation findings. I want to finish a crappy first draft of this chapter or half-of-a-chapter no later than Oct. 20.
3. Based on the revisions I’ve made to other chapters, I need to revise my introduction and add stuff to my lit review, also by Oct. 20.
4. Sat/Sun–more job apps, hopefully the last for now…
Ye Olde Royle Blog 
This week I need to finish revising an article draft by Friday night, so I can send it to my department writing group. My goal today is to spend five hours revising one section of the article of the article that I’ve been struggling with. On Thursday and Friday I want to spend about eight hours each cleaning up some of the clumsy transitions and underdeveloped paragraphs.
On Saturday and Sunday, I want to spend about four hours each day continuing to take notes on the documents I brought back from a recent research trip.
I had some mental setbacks last week and did not accomplish as much as I had hoped, but I am back on my game now.
Goals for the week:
1. Complete “institutional circuits” chapter by end of the day tomorrow (Weds.).
2. Spend Thursday and Friday finishing an outline of my probation findings. I want to finish a crappy first draft of this chapter or half-of-a-chapter no later than Oct. 20.
3. Based on the revisions I’ve made to other chapters, I need to revise my introduction and add stuff to my lit review, also by Oct. 20.
4. Sat/Sun–more job apps, hopefully the last for now…
This week’s recap/next week’s goals, uncharacteristically on time:
1. Finished job apps. No more for the next two weeks or so.
2. Finished outline of probation chapter and made good progress sorting through data excerpts and started to write. It is taking shape.
3. Did NOT finish institutional circuits chapter, as had hoped. Discovered that I need to finish probation chapter first.
So, this week I only have one goal: to keep writing probation chapter, refining my argument as it fits with/relates to other chapters already written as I go along. Due Oct. 20!!!
Writing schedule:
Mon: 7am to 9am, noon to 3pm
Tues: 8am to noon
Weds.: 7am to 9am, noon to 3pm
Thurs.: 7am to 9am, noon to 3pm
Sat.: 9am to 1pm
In order to keep this schedule, I need to be MUCH more disciplined about not checking work email/worrying about job apps during my writing time. Still figuring out a system that works for me. I may try the 50 min. pomodoro method that has worked for others here.
And Sun.: 1 to 3pm in the library with Nicole!
Hi–I’m posting goals for the coming week (it’s 9/28). I think this is the right place–?? A bit confused by the dates of the posts.
BTW my friend Nikki may join us all. I will let her introduce herself, saying only this phrase to remember her by “xenophobia!!”
OK. I accomplished my goal of getting the stuff I want to get into my revised paper (well, nearly all of it) into the article word document in the appropriate places (either in the text or margins). It feels messy, but it’s moving for the better…
This week’s goals
1) Identify and cut irrelevant points. For some, place in memo-in-progress if appropriate. For others, put aside. There is going to have to be a cutting of 3000 total words, as the new ideas get pulled in more clearly.
2) Stick to the reserved library slots I’ve penciled in on Thurs, Fri and Sunday. This seems to help because of the chaos/distraction level in the office (not crazy about the coffee shop setting, either).
3) Figure out a couple key things about my argument: is talking about reduced citizenship rights over time (I just added this) relevant or a distraction? (I think it’s a distraction, not what paper is about at all.) How can I clearly but succinctly say that the 2 big processes I’m following overlap with the two categories of data I’m sharing, but aren’t perfect overlaps, in the results section, to set up the conclusion about the incomplete process of privatization?
4) Get the finished draft to my personal editor — goal is next Friday 10/10
5) Build memo once I can get the revised draft done
I have been MIA this semester, mostly because I’ve been consumed with the new job and teaching. But it’s time to get back to writing business, so here goes, with small goals…my goal for the semester is to have draft of an article, based on my dissertation chapter on rehabilitated femininity, to share with colleagues for feedback. Ideally, I’ll send it out by the middle of spring semester. I haven’t touched my diss this semester, so this week I just need to get started, meaning reread the chapter and develop a plan for what I need to do to turn it into article form. I’m setting aside Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., Thursday, 5-7 p.m. and Saturday, 12-2 p.m. to work on this task. It’s small, but it’s a start.