How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing (First Edition, 2017)

To Dr. Paul Silvia, author of How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing, I want to say: Ouch, that was a real slap in the face, but thank you.A few days ago, I was gladly notified of the acceptance of my proposal to present at a graduate student research conference this fall. Considering the grave importance of producing the most satisfactory piece of academic writing as my first official foray into the academia, I wanted to be as well prepared as possible. A firm advocate of the Chinese idiom -- sharpening your axe before cutting the firewood is never a waste of time -- and a long-time beneficiary of a myriad of how-to books, I picked Dr. Silvia's How to Write a Lot as one of my reference materials.This book starts out with bona fide face slapping -- piercing, painfully accurate diagnosis and demystification of the four most prevailing "specious barriers" to writing a lot. And I scored 3 out of 4. Yes, I am the one who constantly complains about not being able to find time to write yet never miss my favorite TV show. "Binge writers are also binge readers and binge statisticians." Bingo! You often say "I'm waiting until I feel like it." How do you know that?!For me, holding the misconception of creativity being a flash of inspiration out of nowhere is the most lethal of all. Flash of light, bolt of lightening, and alignment of stars have rarely happened, yet the sheer scarcity of their occurrences ironically further feeds my illusion. Dr. Silvia makes all attempts -- scientific, psychological, and motivational -- to hammer home to his readers the simple point that "writing breeds good ideas for writing." Inspiration comes through diligent scheduling, not desultory daydreaming.Another life-altering wake up call for me is the principle of "write first, revise later." I was indeed in a misguided quest for the perfect first draft throughout graduate school. It would take me forever to write down a perfect first sentence before I can move on to the next one. It is the self-inflicting malpractice of writing that makes writing more excruciating that it already is. Hence the procrastination. Hence the analysis paralysis.Besides the heart-pumping motivation and trenchant guidance on how to implement a writing schedule, this book also provides insights on submission and resubmission of academic journals, writing a book, and other aspects of academic writing any scholar will encounter in their professional life. I look forward to the day when I revisit this book for specific advice on those parts, but for now, I will just enjoy the zen of scheduled writing with the magical weapon of the prolific Anthony Thrllope -- "a piece of cobbler's wax on my chair."

The main message of this book on academic writing is that if you want to be a prolific writer you need to make a writing schedule and stick to it. You need at least four days of writing, one hour a day, no exception. Even just four hours a day will make a huge difference when compared to "waiting until you have the time to write." The best chapter in this book, on "Specious barriers to writing a lot," debunks the obvious excuses we make to procrastinate writing. My main feeling while reading this chapter was one of embarrassment: The excuses he lists are obviously and transparently lame, and yet I have used all of them at some point. Fortunately, his tone shows empathy and understanding, and you don't feel that he feels holier than thou. So you may be able to share his sense of amusement while he describes all the contortions we go through to delay the inevitable. Chapters 3 and 4 are on ways to keep you motivated and share your writing experiences with others. Advice in these chapters is somewhat trite. A chapter on writing style is useful mostly for the references it gives to the literature on the subject, rather than for its quick and sometimes questionable suggestions. The last 2 chapters (not counting the somewhat perfunctory conclusion) are specific to writing in psychology, so if you work in a very different field these two chapters may be less useful. Overall, I like the matter-of-fact, amused, empathetic tone of this book. It is short, and you can easily read it on a cross-country flight, so if you don't like some parts then little harm is done. The one aspect I did not enjoy is the author's constant emphasis on how unpleasant writing is. I think academic writing is hard but can be very enjoyable if you do it right. "Doing it right" is well described in the book "Writing Science" by Joshua Schimel, which I recommend. By the way, why four stars for a three-star review? Because I actually made a writing schedule after reading the book, and I am so far more or less sticking to it!

Desde la primera semana escribo un promedio de 600 palabras al día. Un libro de cabecera para todos los que nos encontramos en el mundo de la academia. Si eres de los que necesita inspiración para terminar esa tesis, artículo o libro, este libro es para ti.

If you are looking for a simple book to read about how to write a lot, then this is your option.I bought it for an assignment and I had a lot of fun reading it.I read it in one day. It is really simple!The author sense of humor makes the reading very pleasant. Even if you are not a psychologist, you will find this book interesting.If you apply the author's recommendations then you would probably get nice results.If you are looking for a deeper explanation on how to become a good reader, however, or a detailed explanaition on grammar rules or academic writing, you may find the book lacking.

Para os que escrevem usualmente uma ferramenta útil, para os quem não tem tal habilidade vejo o livro complexo. Recomendo parcialmente.

This book helps me in improving my English writing skill

文中に一般的でない単語が頻用されていたりするのが、英語nativeでない者には鼻につきます。シンプルに書けと言いながら実は気取っていて内容と矛盾しているんですね。間違った事は書いてないです。この通りやれば論文を量産出来るでしょう。