TIPS FOR GETTING ORGANIZED
AND COPING WITH WRITER'S BLOCK

Consider the Logistics of the Task before You Begin

• Think of the dissertation as your job. Make it the top priority in your life. Establish a "dissertation office," a quiet space of your own in which you do nothing but work on the dissertation.

• Set aside a certain amount of time to write each day. Don't be afraid to think small. If you wait until you have a four-hour block of time, you may have trouble writing on a regular basis. Also, you may find yourself intimidated by having to write for such a long time.

• Start a dissertation file to help organize your materials. Choose file headings that make sense to you and add new headings as the need arises.

• Make long range plans. Outline the dates by which you plan to have completed major jobs--defining the research question, writing the proposal, completing the research, finishing the rough draft.

• "Eat the elephant one bite at a time." Break your project into bite-sized parts that you can complete successfully. Start a dissertation calendar to establish due dates for these parts and to give you a record of your short-term progress. Reward yourself when you accomplish short-term goals.

• Consider investing in a data base management program. Investigate which one might work best for you by talking to knowledgeable people-- librarians, experienced users in your own field.

Develop Support Systems

• Organize or join a dissertation-writing support group in your field or department. Such groups provide encouragement and structure, help you set deadlines, and give you an audience for your work in progress.

• Form a writing partnership with another person in your program . Meet on a regular basis to offer encouragement, share ideas, and exchange drafts. (See handout, "Beating the Isolation Blues.")

Develop Writing Strategies That Help Avoid Blocking

• Start each writing session with non-threatening prewriting activities. Brainstorm, freewrite, draw a picture of your internal critic. Such activities prime the pump and help relieve writing anxiety.

• Use simple lists and outlines to help overcome organizational blocking.Many writers block because they feel overwhelmed by the amount of material they have to cover and do not know where to begin. Informal lists and outlines help you put your thoughts in order. As you work through your lists, you begin to see patterns that become more detailed as you work.

Start writing as soon as possible.

• You don't have to wait until you have all of your research done. Tell yourself "it's just a draft" to help take the threat out of putting words on paper. Such drafting will increase your understanding of the subject and build momentum for your project.

• Don't worry about writing the sections of your proposal or the chapters of your dissertation in the order they will appear in the final product. Start by writing what comes easiest for you. --Once you start writing, keep the flow going by signposting. Each time you quit writing, plant a "booster" for the next writing session: leave off with directions to yourself about what will come next; stop in the middle of a sentence. Avoid starting a new writing session facing a blank page.

Accept that you will go through a series of revisions. Writing is a process: prewriting, drafting, revising editing.

• Don't edit prematurely. Use your initial draft to discover the big picture; don't get bogged down worrying about the niceties of grammar and style until you have all of your ideas in order. There will be plenty of time later to revise on the local level.

• Contact the UCD Counseling Center to get information on their Procrastination Support Group. (Don't put this off!)

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