How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing [Paperback]

Paul J. Silvia (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1591477433 | ISBN-13: 978-1591477433 | Publication Date: January 15, 2007 | Edition: 1

All students and professors need to write, and many struggle to finish their stalled dissertations, journal articles, book chapters, or grant proposals. Writing is hard work and can be difficult to wedge into a frenetic academic schedule. In this practical, lighthearted and encouraging book, Paul J Silvia explains that writing productively doesnot require innate skills or special traits but specific tactics and actions. Drawing examples from his own field: psychology, he shows readers how to overcome motivational roadblocks and become prolific without sacrificing evenings, weekends and vactions. After describing strategies for writing productively, the author gives advise from the trenches on how to write, submit, revise, and resubmit articles: how to improve writing quality; and how to write and publish academic work.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A contemporary admonition tells us, "If you talk the talk, you have to be able to walk the walk." Paul Silvia does both; he writes effectively about how to write effectively. Without being either a scold or a Pollyanna, he identifies ways in which each of us can achieve our goals of being more proficient authors.
--Lawrence S. Wrightsman, Professor of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence; author of The Psychology of the Supreme Court and coauthor of Forensic Psychology (2nd ed.) with Sol Fulero.

A common complaint among faculty and graduate students alike is that writing often takes a backseat to other professional and personal commitments. For those who have trouble writing enough, Paul Silvia explains how to write more. For those who already write plenty, he shows how to do so more efficiently and with lower cost to one's other obligations. Every researcher will benefit from the gems of advice in this book.
--Mark R. Leary, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

Paul Silvia's new book is just the tonic for academics who want to be more productive. Silvia demolishes all of the typical excuses that people use to put off getting to work, and he gives a few concise, practical tips that will help anyone to write more. Psychologists are the target reader, but professors in any discipline would benefit from the advice in this book.
--R. Keith Sawyer, Associate Professor, Department of Education, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri; author of seven books, editor or coauthor of three more, and author of more than 50 articles.

About the Author

Paul J. Silvia received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Kansas in 2001. He studies the psychology of emotion, particularly what makes things interesting, the role of emotions in the arts, and how emotions intersect with personality. He received the Berlyne Award, an early-career award given by American Psychological Association Division 10, for his research on aesthetic emotions. Dr. Silvia is the author of Exploring the Psychology of Interest (2006) and Self-Awareness and Causal Attribution (with T. S. Duval, 2001). In his free time, he drinks coffee; pets Lia, his Bernese mountain dog; and enjoys not writing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 149 pages
• Publisher: Amer Psychological Assn; 1 edition (January 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591477433
• ISBN-13: 978-1591477433
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Medical Books > Research

More About the Author

Paul J. Silvia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His research explores the emotion of interest, particularly what makes things interesting or boring, and the psychology of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

255 of 260 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a lot of advice!, July 23, 2010

By 

R. Perelmutter "draig_du" (Lawrence, KS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing (Paperback)

Hello, my name is Renee. I am an assistant professor and a mother. I write a lot.

I inherited this book from a friend who didn't get tenure. I find books on writing valuable, because even though I write a lot, there's always something to learn from others who write a lot.

This book was interesting and easy to read. It was funny, and I share the author's interest in mid-century furniture (although I am not sure it is relevant to writing!). I would recommend it to people who want to read a useful text on writing productively.

However, I am giving this text only three stars because the advice is rather thin, and I do not necessarily agree with two of the author's major suggestions/ideas.

First is the central premise of this book - the author's assertion that the only way to write a lot is to set a schedule and stick to it (p. 17). Setting a schedule and sticking to it is a great way to write a lot. Many people, especially professors, use it successfully. It is well worth trying, and the book explores this very useful technique. However, it is not the only way to write a lot.

Here are some other methods that work for productive writers who do not always write on a schedule.

1. Set a daily wordcount goal. Steven King does this. His daily wordcount goal is 2000 words a day. For an academic, this is an insane goal. Academic writing is moving much slower. A realistic goal for me is between 250-500 words a day, i.e. between one to two pages a day. Get your writing goal out of the way as soon as you can - do not postpone this till the evening. You can grade student papers in the evening, as it takes so much less brainpower.
If you are editing rather than writing, set a page goal instead of a wordcount goal.

2. Grab a kitchen timer and set it for 15 mins. Everyone can write for just 15 mins (in fact, there is a book about it, and it should be available on Amazon). It doesn't matter WHEN you do this, only that you do this. Do at least one session a day. Two, three are better; but do not binge-write (Silvia warns against this, and he is right). In general, setting small daily goals works.

3. Find some buddies and set up a mutual accountability system. Just a short daily email with "I wrote!" is a great motivator. It is easier to do things together than alone. One version of the mutual accountability system is to chat-write together. You get together in a chat (such as google chat) with your buddies and you agree on a chunk of time. After this time you report to each other, and if you have juice left, do this again. Academics I write with usually do 15-20min chunks. Creative writers I write with go for 30 mins as a rule.

Do I write on schedule? Sometimes, but often it is unrealistic for a busy mother like me, who has a child with autism. Some days it is impossible to find 2-hr chunks of time in my day. It is, however, possible to find 15-minute chunks, 30-minute chunks. If you pre-plan and break your tasks into small units, you'd be amazed how much can be accomplished.

My second big quib with the author is his repeating statement, e.g. on p. 130: "writing is hard and will always be hard; writing is unpleasant and will always be unpleasant". I think this is a statement that is both harmful and untrue.

The more you write, the easier it gets. It's like exercise. The more you do it, the stronger your writing muscles become, the easier it is to "work out". Every journal acceptance or a good R&R will make writing even easier for you, because you will see that your effort brings results.

Second, telling yourself that writing is unpleasant and will always be unpleasant is harmful and will, I believe, make you write less, rather than more. Who wants to spend 2hrs every day doing something they hate? Even 15 minutess become painful. Writing might hurt now, but if there is no HOPE of it ever becoming pleasant, why bother at all? I was surprised to read this from a psychologist, since psychologists know very well that as humans we tend to spend more time on tasks that engage our interest and are pleasurable, rather than on painful tasks.

And here we come back to my friends, the creative writers. I often write with my creative writer buddies because they are more often available to chat-write and to talk about wriitng. In fact, I can find somebody to write with almost every time I have 15-20 mins to write. Why is that? The answer is simple. Creative writers love writing, want to write, cannot wait to start writing. It's fun. It can be really painful, and frustrating, but you do it because you love it. And even if you are suffering now, you remember why you are doing it/m . You tell yourself this every day, and you believe it. Most creative writers start out as rather lousy writers - it often takes years to get to publication, but they persevere because of love.

Over the years I have developed this habit as well. In 2002, when I grabbed my first book on writing, writing was excruciating, painful, almost impossible. In 2010, writing is still at times painful, but it's fun. I want to do it. It's awesome.

And that's my secret to writing a lot.

120 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hi, my name is Meg and I'm a binge writer., April 19, 2009

By 

Megan L. Mccall (St Louis, MO, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing (Paperback)

I picked up this book knowing that it was going to tell me to stick to a writing schedule. I thought, "Well, I'll just ignore that part and pick out the stuff I like." I really did not want to hear that in order to be productive, I would have to schedule several hours a week in order to write. I am a busy person; where on earth will I "find the time"? Long weekends and school breaks are when the writing will get done. Well, P. J. Silvia shattered that illusion into a million pieces... He made it clear that I will never complete my papers if I keep waiting for the perfect moment, because during those perfect moments I will find something else that needs to be done (e.g. catch up on sleep, call my mother, wash the laundry, etc.). Unfortunately, it is my job to write. Problem, no?

But you see, I DETEST writing. I become paralyzed by anxiety, and I dread the exhaustion that inevitably follows a bout with my computer. So, I avoid it. But Dr Silvia argues that if I wrote at a specific time, on specific days, every week--and gave myself small goals for that session (e.g. write 200 words)--there would be no anxiety. Afterall, who can't write 200 words in an hour or two? Moreover, that small task won't drain me of energy. Research would not become enjoyable, but it would lose its status as cruel and unusual punishment. It would simply become an unpleasant part of my work, comparable to having to attend boring committee meetings.

I picked up this book intending to ignore the nasty scheduling piece, and I left converted. This book shatters any illusions you may have about binge writing being the "technique" that works for you. So, if you don't want to schedule writing time, maybe you should ask yourself why--and then read this book.

70 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Motivational, Insightful and Extremely Helpful!, December 16, 2007

By 

D. Horan "Franciscan Friar" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing (Paperback)

This little volume carries a lot of punch; don't be confused by it's small stature. While Silvia outlines his method right from the start - Schedule Time to Write - his development of the things one needs to consider in order to be productive is wonderfully insightful.

Perhaps the most useful chapter is the second in which he lists a number of "Specious Barriers to Writing a Lot," i.e. poor excuses. It may be his background in psychology, or just his keen observational and analytical skills, but he is right on target in identifying those excuses we use time and again to prevent productive writing. His combating of these barriers is both humorous and motivating.

The only downside, and it is minor, is that he writes as if to an audience comprised solely of psychologists. Granted, he is one and the book is published by the APA, but the psychological examples can become a bit grating. That said, his book still speaks to a wide readership that can glean wonderful tips from his book. (My field is in the humanities and I found the book to be top notch!) I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a writer - especially the academics out there!