Thread by @MushtaqBilalPhD

One of the biggest hurdles every academic writer faces (and how to overcome it):

Writing a first draft (of a journal article, dissertation chapter, etc.) is something every academic writer struggles with.

We find writing first drafts particularly difficult because of the way we describe them.

Many writers and writing teachers use words like:

shitty, trashy, crappy

to describe first drafts.

Some people call first drafts "word vomit."

Think about words like shitty and vomit and ask yourself the kind of feeling they evoke in you.

Do you find shit and vomit exciting or disgusting?

Word are powerful and our view of the world is shaped in and through language.

Because we have associated words like shit and vomit with first drafts we find writing them them very difficult.

If I were to tell you that tomorrow you'd get up and write something "shitty," you'd hardly look forward to doing it.

Instead of finding the writing process exciting, we resent it.

That's because we have associated disgust with the first step of the process.

So, how do we break this bad habit of calling first drafts shitty?

Instead of calling your first draft shitty, think of them as fledglings that need to be nourished and cared for.

Doing so will replace the feeling of disgust with warmth.

This may take some time, but once you've done it you will start looking forward to writing.

Another thing you can do is to write in sessions of 25min and reward yourself at the end of a session.

The reward doesn't have to be big.

It could be your favorite food or even a simple sentence like "I'm this amazing person who's creating new and original knowledge."

This way you will train your mind to think of writing first drafts as a rewarding activity.

Do it for a few weeks and it will become a habit.

Example:

Here's a first draft of a thread I wrote last month.

I wrote the first draft and went to bed.

I got up and did a second draft...

...and then a third.

I was excited about it and it showed.

The thread went viral and has been read more than 7million times.

And I started receiving speaking invitations from universities all over the world.

https://twitter.com/MushtaqBilalPhD/status/1621379333943083009

Had I thought of my first draft as something shitty, I would not have felt excited enough to get up at 4am to rewrite it.

These days, you can use AI apps like ChatGPT to get you started on your first draft.

I talk about how to use ChatGPT and various other AI apps for academic writing purposes in my ebook.

You can get your copy by clicking on the link 👇

efficientacademicwriter.carrd.co

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