Hello all,

My supervisor encouraged to try to publish a paper on a topic I previously worked on, however, I cannot get myself to write it! No sentence seems good enough, and I end up staring at a blank screen.

I am already seeing the 'rejection' decision by reviewers, and this is blocking me from getting any work done.


I know this is a symptom of little confidence. I tried dealing with it, but I keep procrastinating.

I bet if he told you they were paying 1 million pounds you'd be done. Procrastination is a myth. If it were of critical importance, it would be done.

Do you plan on having an academic career?
Do you plan on getting a postdoc post-graduation?
Do you intend to be competitive in this ruthless academic job market?
If the answer to any of those was yes...get writing.

Do or do not. There is no try. Get writing. Even if it sounds like junk. Thats why we have a backspace key.

“Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly--until you can learn to do it well.” ― Zig Ziglar

Thats it. You have used up all my Jedi wisdom for the day.

Get writing.

Writing up for a publication can be very painful, especially if you don't have much experience.

It is a steep learning curve, and we all went through it. My suggestions are:
1. Work with a timer (25 minutes, 5 minutes break)
2. If possible attend a scientific writing workshop.
3. Select the journal you are submitting to, and see how the other papers are structured (how many words in the title, how many words in introductions etc). Do the abstract LAST
4. Start with the structure. Sections, subsections.
5. Summarise each paragraph in one bullet point. Each paragraph should be approximately 150 to 250 words. Make sure you stick to the word limit.
6. Move one by producing all the tables and figures of the analysis.
7. Then you can fill the paragraphs with sentences.

Good luck. As Fled said, academia is all about writing papers. It is crucial that you learn how to do it, after a few years it is a time-consuming routine. None of us was born knowing how to write papers, or has a special skill. Failure is part of the process of learning, and sometimes it happens even to senior academics. Get over it. Constructive criticism is the best thing that comes out of this process.

hi 29200,
I struggle too; even for presentations-- I have had to force myself to do them.
Sometimes I don't even like certain things I have to write, I force myself.
Sounds harsh but there's no other way to push myself.

One way that seems to work for me is working under pressure, it seems to bring out the best in me.

Plan week by week, but go day by day. Don't give up. Very best of luck.

love satchi

@Fled and DrJeckyll -- both 5 STAR responses!!! :-)