I want to climb the slopes, too

Cynthia Miller Coffel’s Blog Post

The piece I read today reminded me of Cynthia Miller Coffel’s beautifully written guest blog post.  Cynthia talked about using models when turning her dissertation into a book.

Lucy Townsend's Article

The author of the article I read, Lucy Townsend, compares her trek on a career in academia to mountain climbing. She offers survival tips: know thyself, plan for the trip, have an endless stash of “supplies,” be patient, and collaborate.

Townsend says when she wrote her dissertation, she looked at her committee as if they were editors at a publishing house. She wrote the dissertation as if she were writing a book for the general public. I guess I liked the article because she said things I firmly believe in. I value writing for the general public. I want to write for everyone in the sense that I want to be understood. I also empathized with her when she suggests that she felt like there was a mismatch in terms of her training and her research focus.

Writing/Survival Strategy

We also both keep a prayer journal. She writes, “I kept a prayer journal in which I listed possible topics for research, papers I was developing…. Reading the journal and thanking Cod for the essays I had published were encouraging activities, but I continued to struggle with deep feelings of inadequacy.”

I have a colleague who says she lights candles and prays before she writes. When she sends the manuscript off, she prays again. She finds peace in that, whether the manuscript is published or not, it is well.

If you’re not religious, you can just list your ideas and express gratitude to the universe. Do whatever brings you peace.

Of course I’m paraphrasing, so please see Lucy Townsend “Climbing the Slopes of Academia: The Educational Biographer at Work,”  Vitae Scholasticae 25, 77-89, 2008