Academic writing is an important and essential part of any researcher’s role, and vital to the research process. A researcher needs to publish research articles and abstracts, communicate ideas, write grants and inform the public and peers about their research.
Writing can be hard but often the most challenging part is just finding the time and space to write. Although there is always a purpose and commitment to writing it can often be daunting getting started with the motivation lacking. This is where writing retreats come in. Writing retreats allow all participants to focus solely on the writing with structured planning, writing blocks, and regular breaks. Writing retreats also provide a social aspect, where everyone in the room is writing at the same time, providing the motivation and encouragement to just write, which is often lacking when writing alone where other distractions can get in our way.
At the IAD, as part of our Research Staff and Principal Investigator training programmes, we run dedicated staff writing retreats to provide researchers with that opportunity to block out some dedicated time to focus on their academic writing and progress on projects.
Our writing retreats programme is as follows:
Morning Writing Retreat: 9:30 -11:30, first Thursday of month, online
Afternoon Writing Retreat: 13:30 – 16:30, third Wednesday of the month, hybrid
As from next academic year (25/26) we’ll also be adding an extra retreat each month, on the last Thursday
We also run Writefest, an academic writing month, during November.
The retreats take the typical structure of having check-in and planning time at the start where participants share their writing goal for the session. As facilitators we try to ensure that they have set a precise goal – a chapter, number of words, article, etc., – something tangible to create a sense of achievement at the end. It’s helpful for researchers to articulate what they want to achieve in the session for accountability. When you decide to block some time out to do some writing, it can often feel like a luxury and you want to ensure that it’s worthwhile, having a plan helps with this. It can also be really encouraging to hear from other colleagues on how they approach their writing, providing a level of peer support.
The half day retreats have two focused writing slots, usually between 50mins – 1hr15min, depending on the timings for the whole retreat. As a facilitator we keep an eye on time and inform participants when it’s time to break and start, ensuring that they can focus entirely on their writing.
The end of the retreat is a ‘wrap-up’ session allowing participants to share what they have achieved, if they managed to do what they planned and what their next steps are. Sometimes participants are enthusiastic, having made good progress, and feedback that they’ve got the momentum going so will now continue with their writing. Other times we hear that they’d set themselves too big a task and never fully achieved what they planned. However, we find that when this happens, they still feedback that the retreat was a useful process and a good use of time.
It’s important to acknowledge that writing can be a slow process, you are after all communicating your research, your processes and plans, and you want to ensure what you are writing is your best work. Often what you think is achievable in a writing slot can sometimes take longer and require more thought, and that’s why we run the different retreats during the month allowing researchers to attend as many as they need.
The IAD has also developed a ‘Writing Retreat Facilitators Guide’ to support anyone interested in running local retreats in their School/Institute. We also have links to support, resources and information focused on writing.
New: Narrative CV Writing Retreats
We recently piloted Narrative CV Writing Retreats. These are aimed at staff currently writing Narrative CVs for career or research-related applications who wish to make progress on these. The writing retreat gives participants dedicated time to work on their narrative CVs in a supportive environment, with opportunities to discuss and get feedback from peers. Facilitators provide a brief introduction to Narrative CVs, outlining their structures and possible content. The retreats have been well received by participants:
Feel a lot more positive about the benefits of a narrative CV and that I can make my experience suit the format in a way that benefits me
This was a really useful session. I arrived not knowing anything about narrative CVs, and the introduction communicated this information clearly and effectively (I made lots of notes!). I left the session knowing what I need to do, having mapped out the key information for each of the modules, and having started to write up my answer to module 1.
It was an excellent opportunity for to sit down and write as I have been putting this off for a few months. I kind of knew most of the stuff but it was good to have a refresher. And the time spent talking to colleagues on how to apply strategies to one’s writing was very helpful, especially as I wouldn’t have met them otherwise. Thank you!
These will be running again next academic year [2025/26]. Keep an eye out for dates if you are interested!
Our writing retreats are open to all research and academic staff at the University, so come along if you want to get some writing done!
For dates of upcoming writing retreats, visit: https://institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/research-roles/writing-support-for-researchers
(Photo: Douglas Robertson Photography)
