Day 17: Pose questions to keep yourself curious
From Katie Linder, podcaster, author, and coach
Photo by Katie Linder
We all hit roadblocks in our writing when we are not feeling inspired or motivated to keep going. Consider drafting a set of questions for yourself that you can respond to in order to get your writing juices flowing again.
Here are some examples:
“What is the purpose of my writing project?”
“What do I enjoy about writing?”
“What do I most want my readers to know?”
“What are my readers most curious about regarding this topic?”
“What am I most concerned about with my writing?”
“What do I need to focus on writing next?”
“What larger contribution does my writing make?”
“Who am I as a writer?”
“What is the easiest next step in this writing project?”
“What feels energizing about my writing right now?”
Keep your list of questions handy so you can refer to it when you get stuck. Any of these questions can be a jumping off point on days when it feels hard to ease into your writing practice. What’s your favorite question to ask yourself to get back into the flow?
For more tips, check out my podcast, You’ve Got This, as well as my books about online teaching and learning. If you’re in career transition, you may enjoy my latest book, Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers.
Katie Linder, podcaster, author, and coach
This prompt resonates with so many of the other #AcWriMoments this month -- e.g. we could ask ourselves “What is my body telling me right now?” (Michael Moses) or “What would Younger Self say?” (Margy Thomas) or “What kind of fuel can help my words to take flight?” (Sophie Nicholls).
This is great! One of my most useful tools I’ve created for myself over the years is a set of 85 interconnected questions that I call my “Refraction Questions.” Whereas Reflection Questions are like mirrors that help us see ourselves, Refraction Questions are like lenses. They can expand our perception across scales and distances, like microscope and telescopes. 🔎🔬🔭 I use my RQs daily, and they help me so much with focus and intentionality. Thanks for the prompt, Katie!