2026 Session 1, Week 2

Welcome back! I hope last week went well for you. This week's quote and question are about finding people to read your work, beginning with these words from Ann Lamott's classic Bird By Bird.

"Whenever I'm giving a lecture at a writing conference and happen to mention the benefits of finding someone to read your drafts, at least one older established writer comes up to me and says that he or she would never in a million years show his or her work to another person before it was done. It is not a good idea, and I must stop telling my students that it will help them. I just smile, geisha-like, and make little fluttery sounds of understanding. Then I go on telling people to consider finding someone who would not mind reading their drafts and marking them up with useful suggestions. The person may not have an answer to what is missing or annoying about the piece, but writing is so often about making mistakes and feeling lost" (162-3). 

Maybe you have someone who reads your work; maybe you have a writing group in which you exchange short or long bits of writing; maybe you have one or more people who get together for writing dates (I believe this is now called Body Doubling, and you can watch videos of people working if you don't have a real person to study/write/whatever with). What is your experience with such readers or working groups? If you have one, how did you find or create it? If they don't work for you, why not?

And then let us know how you did with your goals, and what you're going to attempt this week!

(I'm wondering if Daisy is Overcome By Events, but I hope you'll be back! Anyone else who wants to join in is welcome; we don't have a set number of spaces and would be happy to have you join. Since it's a short session this time, maybe this would be a good chance to try us out knowing it's only for another 10 weeks . . .)

Last week's goals:

Dame Eleanor Hull:

--2 hours writing/research on each of 3 days
--Latin prep for Friday's group meeting
--meet with TA's
--meet with other faculty
--tackle teaching report for annual review
--put together that list of class prep items, with time estimates
--3 hours on garage
--remember book group meeting
--remember to look at calendar/lists every day

 Heu Mihi:

1) Finish syllabus and ViLE page
2) Get to 5500 words of messy draft of essay; read over it to see where I am, figure out next steps
3) Creative writing x 1
4) Finish knitting sweater for friend's new baby
5) 35 pp. of Italian
6) LoR for former student
7) Sit some amount
8) Finish book for festschrift intro

JaneB:

SELF-CARE: all process goals, for three term time months:
a) intentional movement 20x3 or 15x4
b) some kind of making (art or craft) x2
c) something gently social x2
d) read at least one chapter (of fiction) every day this week
IMPROVING MY ENVIRONMENT: goals carried over!
a) 75% of weekly list of chores
b) make an appointment with declutterer
c) make a plan for the shelving in living space
TEACHING AND ADMIN:
a) finish second year grading and start first year grading
b) set up ViLE for module that starts late February
c) schedule and complete appraisal meetings (it's a "cascaded duty" which makes it rather pointless - but I have to appraise three juniot colleagues this week)
d) prepare lectures for first week of teaching
RESEARCH
a) read over referees comments and suggested responses for minor author paper
b) schedule a meeting to discuss plan for lead author paper
c) read papers in advance of meeting for Large Funded Project
d) read and reply to email from Unexpected Collaborator
e) make a list of all the projects that might need attention this session!

Julie:

1. Research: go through notes and archive photos to find examples for Big Article
2. Writing: new, longer introduction to local history chapter.
3. House/life admin: return library books, do some research for summer trip, pay in a cheque, do some decluttering, organise for weekend away.
4. Self-care/fun: text friend, read, exercise (find a weights class?), weekend away with family.

Susan:

1. Finish syllabus for new course, post on LMS
2. Create budget for conference
3. Revise letter of reference for student for the perfect job
4. Pack up two boxes of books for second hand bookstore, and two for the "book sale/giveaway" I'm doing on campus.
5. Keep up with exercise and physical therapy exercise.
6. See people and be nice to them.
7. Have some fun

 

2026 Session 1, Week 1

Welcome to the first session of 2026! Dame Eleanor and I will be co-hosts. The session will run through until Easter, as both of us are away some of April, so the last session would be 29th March. That makes this a shorter session than usual, only 12 weeks, so if people want to continue some informal goal setting over April, particularly people in the US whose teaching might not align with these dates, feel free.

As usual, this first week will be for setting session goals, introductions if anyone new joins (all welcome!) and first week goals. Normally, prompts will be related to writing: a mixture of quotations from real and fictional writers, and questions taken from Hattie Crisell's book In Writing, based on her podcast of the same name of interviews with writers about their practices. (If anyone is interested, I'd recommend the podcast over the book.)

For this first week, however, I wanted to use Susan's New Year post about kindness, because that seems such a good way to start what is already proving to be a tough 2026. I particularly liked the point that kindness is within our control. So how can we be kind in 2026? This could be to ourselves, to others or both.

I have no equivalent of a Shoutypants to entertain you all with each week, but have a photo of New Year's Day sunrise over the river, taken on my way to park run. May there be light for all of us these next few months.

Happy New Year!

 Last year was a hard year for many in higher education globally, so I thought it would be nice to welcome the new year with hopes for kindness in the year ahead.  

And as with all intersession posts, feel free to post resolutions/hopes/goals/intentions, report on events, or just say hello!  

My slightly wonky tree, providing light on a rainy day, when I'm sitting and working on my index.