Writing During a Seemingly Never-Ending Pandemic:

It is not an easy time to be a graduate student, an academic , even a tenured professor.   Is it safe to teach in person?  Should all our meetings remain virtual?   How can we make time to write when everything takes longer when it is hybrid?  Life is tough right now even if you are tenured, and more so if you are not.

Most of us work so hard to become academics because we truly love our subject.  Some of us  love the teaching most.  Others love the freedom to study and write about our  intellectual interests.  Few of us  think committee work is the best part of the job but some of you may love that too. And yet, whether we are students, adjuncts, or Full professors,  the daily grind during Covid-19 is unforgiving.  Loved ones are sick, and some have died.  Many of us are improvising online classes or hybrid, and we don’t know which from week to week!  How to move forward at this time, when Omicron is spiking but still, we hope the end is in sight? 

Maybe you don’t move forward at all.  You have the right.   We’ve all been traumatized by a year of the pandemic.  We are still in this  pandemic.  800,000 Americans have died and cases are higher now in many places than in the last two years.   It is not possible to just pretend everything is “normal.”   We are all tired.  Give yourself a break.  If you have caretaking responsibilities, now is the time to take advantage of  the  job flexibility working from home allows.  Make a conscious choice about how to use your time.  Would you prefer to take a somewhat slower path in your career and spend more time now helping your children survive, or taking care of a friend or relative that has long Covid?  Do it! No guilt or explanation required. There is nothing particularly moral to prioritizing career growth over your relationships.   Finding a comfortable balance between work, family, and life is your right.  A crises is always a good excuse to re-balance your work, family and leisure time. If the pandemic has taught us anything it is that life is unpredictable, and can be far shorter than we hope.  You deserve to enjoy it. 

As a writing coach, I  should perhaps do what other writing coaches are doing, giving you tips for writing despite the pandemic.  It is true that if you lose the discipline of a regular writing practice, it is very hard to start again.  But I am first and foremost a mentor, and not just a writing coach.  My advice is to be lenient with yourself.  If you can find the time, and headspace, keep writing, but loosen up what you define as part of your writing practice.   If you are trying to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life, take the time to read widely, and journal. That’s writing.  If you are considering changing research specialties, you must learn a new literature, consider that part of your writing practice. You must read before you can write.   If you want to be known as a master teacher, start reading pedagogy and perhaps blogging about it. Eventually, your career cannot move forward without some attention to writing, whether about pedagogy, higher education, or your research.   In some colleges, you are not expected to publish often, but everywhere  it helps your visibility.  Most important, no one can benefit from your wisdom who isn’t actually in your class unless you write about it.  
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If you do have a writing project you want to make headway with, even slowly, you may want to join Risman’s Writing Retreats online community.   Starting January 24th  we will meet for three hours every Monday morning for 12 weeks.  We will talk about writing strategies, hold each other accountable, and write together.   Each week will start with a writing tip, and an accountability practice that spans  each week.   We only have 6 spaces left so now is the time to decide!  

Professor Risman is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She is known for both her academic writing, including her latest book, Where the Millennials Will Take Us and for writing for a public audience  including editorial  in the Seattle Times, CNN.com and Raleigh News & Observer.  She has taught writing classes to graduate students at UIC and to graduate students and faculty at universities throughout Europe.  She  hosts  online writing communities,  face-to-face and online  writing workshops for departments at colleges at universities across the world and  (after the pandemic)  face-to-face writing retreats.  She can be reached at RismansWritingRetreats@gmail.com or http://www.barbararisman.com/rismans-writing-retreats.html
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