I can't get started on writing at all
Get words onto the page before you know exactly what you think, and shape them afterwards.
In short
Start here, today. Open a new file that nobody else will see and call it “zero draft”. Set a timer for 20 minutes, finish this sentence and keep going: “What I'm really trying to say in this section is…” Don't delete or fix anything until the timer ends. This takes about 20 minutes.
After that, work through these steps. Choose one to jump to it.
Step by step
Tick each step as you finish it. Open a step for the how.
0 of 6 steps done
Give yourself a zero draft
A zero draft is a draft you're allowed to get wrong. Write in notes and half sentences if you need to, and mark gaps with [REF] or [check this] instead of stopping to look things up. Its only job is to give you something to work with tomorrow.
Write to yourself first
Start sentences with “I think”, “What surprised me was” or “The problem with this study is”. Plain, first-person thinking is easy to turn into academic prose later. Academic prose written from nothing, while you're still working out the idea, is very hard.
Start in the middle
You don't have to begin at the beginning. Start with the part you know best, often the methods, a description of your data or site, or a study you could explain in your sleep. Introductions are much easier once you know what they're introducing.
Talk it out, then transcribe
Explain the section out loud to a friend, or record yourself answering “So what are you arguing here?” Use your phone's transcription, or play it back and type. Many people speak in clearer sentences than they write when an idea is new, and a messy transcript is still more than a blank page.
Work in short, timed sessions
Set 25 to 30 minutes with a small target: one paragraph, one subsection or 300 rough words. When the timer ends, log the session in Writing Sessions and note exactly where you'll start next time, so tomorrow doesn't begin with a blank page too.
Shape it later with a reverse outline
Once you have a few pages, write one line in the margin saying what each paragraph does. Read those lines in order and you'll see what's missing, what's repeated and what belongs somewhere else. At that point you're revising, which is far easier than starting.
Words you can use
Is this you? Signs to look for
- You open the document, write a sentence, delete it, and check your email.
- You feel you need to read one more paper before you're allowed to write.
- You can explain your project well out loud but freeze when you try to put it on the page.
- Your file has a title, some headings and nothing underneath them.
Why this happens
Most people assume they need to know what they think before they start writing. In research it usually runs the other way: writing is how you find out what you think. When your argument isn't clear yet, the blank page shows you that straight away. It feels like a writing problem, but it's a thinking problem that writing will help you solve.
The second thing going on is judgement. A thesis draft can feel as if your supervisor, your committee and an imagined examiner are all reading over your shoulder, so every sentence gets judged the moment it appears. Writing and editing at the same time is slow and miserable. Separating them fixes a surprising amount.
The task may also be too big to start. “Write chapter 2” has no first sentence. “Explain to myself why I chose interviews instead of a survey” does.
Worth a look (5)
- Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day, by Joan BolkerA short, practical book on freewriting, early drafts and writing a little every day.
- Writing for Social Scientists, by Howard BeckerOn why academics fear writing and why first drafts are allowed to be messy. Useful well beyond the social sciences.
- Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)Free guides on every part of academic writing, from structuring a paragraph to citing sources. A good first stop when you're unsure how something should look.
- Writing Center Tips & ToolsShort, friendly handouts answer almost any writing question, from literature reviews and abstracts to passive voice and conclusions. Reach for them when one particular thing is tripping you up.
- Writing AdviceShort, practical pages walk you through planning, drafting and revising, with advice on literature reviews, lab reports and using sources. They're easy to dip into when you have one question.
When to bring someone in
If you haven't been able to write anything for several months, tell your supervisor and book an appointment with your university's writing centre. Many writing centres see graduate students one to one, and some run thesis writing retreats or boot camps where starting is easier because everyone around you is doing it too. If the block comes with low mood, poor sleep or dread that reaches beyond writing, contact your counselling service as well.
Find the right person, or talk to Ify