Ask the Author: Scott S. Elliott
Answered Questions (2)
Scott S. Elliott
As far as book-length works are concerned, I currently have three projects underway: (1) a commentary on Paul's letter to the Philippians for the Sheffield-Phoenix Press "Readings" series; (2) a book to be titled, _The Rustle of Paul: Barthesean Readings of Self-Narration in Pauline Epistles_, which will also be published by Sheffield-Phoenix Press; and (3) a volume in the Fortress Press "Reading the Bible in the Twenty-first Century" series, tentatively titled, _Insights from Postmodern Criticism_. Fortunately, there's a year between the deadline for each.
Scott S. Elliott
Writer's block is tough. Unfortunately, it seems also to be an integral part of my process. Admittedly, there are some good things about this, contrary to what it might seem. Perhaps I'll comment on those another time. Meanwhile, I've been stuck on article I'm writing for what seems an unusually long time. The delay feeds my frustration, and that in turn feeds the delay.
Recently, I took refuge at a place two hours west of where I live with no internet and no cell phone signal for the express purpose of writing. I made some progress; not enough, but some. But, of course, the fact that I have to depend so heavily on semester breaks to get any serious writing done is hardly satisfactory. I don't know how many hours per week, on average, I give to writing during the semester, much less how to quantify my progress. I might be better off if I were able to do so.
But, here are some things I regularly do:
(1) I find ways to impose deadlines (e.g., by committing to something, i.e., a publisher's contract, an editor's deadline, conferences). I can rarely count on myself to keep deadlines that are arbitrary and self-governed.
(2) For better or worse, I have way more on my plate at any one time than I should. The one advantage of this (and there are plenty of disadvantages, which I'll leave you all to list) is that I can bounce from one thing to another to ensure that...
(3) I'm always at least trying to write ... something.
In order to manage the negative side of having too many things on my plate, (4) I take on projects that overlap as much as possible.
On a more practical note, (5) I arrange my teaching schedule to limit the amount of prep and other work I have to do at home in the evenings and/or on the weekend (e.g., preparing as much as possible for an entire week in advance on Fridays when I'm on campus but don't have classes).
(6) I write in the classroom when students are taking exams. It isn't much, but it's something.
(7) I alternate between projects of various sizes (e.g., a book review, a blog post, a conference paper, a book chapter, etc., etc.). Never underestimate the feeling of accomplishment that comes with finishing ANYTHING, and the subsequent momentum it brings!
(8) I keep a notebook of some sort with me everywhere I go. In terms of process and forward momentum, it's worth its weight in gold.
(9) I read. I read work relevant to my current writing project. I read fiction. I read drafts of colleagues' work.
Recently, I took refuge at a place two hours west of where I live with no internet and no cell phone signal for the express purpose of writing. I made some progress; not enough, but some. But, of course, the fact that I have to depend so heavily on semester breaks to get any serious writing done is hardly satisfactory. I don't know how many hours per week, on average, I give to writing during the semester, much less how to quantify my progress. I might be better off if I were able to do so.
But, here are some things I regularly do:
(1) I find ways to impose deadlines (e.g., by committing to something, i.e., a publisher's contract, an editor's deadline, conferences). I can rarely count on myself to keep deadlines that are arbitrary and self-governed.
(2) For better or worse, I have way more on my plate at any one time than I should. The one advantage of this (and there are plenty of disadvantages, which I'll leave you all to list) is that I can bounce from one thing to another to ensure that...
(3) I'm always at least trying to write ... something.
In order to manage the negative side of having too many things on my plate, (4) I take on projects that overlap as much as possible.
On a more practical note, (5) I arrange my teaching schedule to limit the amount of prep and other work I have to do at home in the evenings and/or on the weekend (e.g., preparing as much as possible for an entire week in advance on Fridays when I'm on campus but don't have classes).
(6) I write in the classroom when students are taking exams. It isn't much, but it's something.
(7) I alternate between projects of various sizes (e.g., a book review, a blog post, a conference paper, a book chapter, etc., etc.). Never underestimate the feeling of accomplishment that comes with finishing ANYTHING, and the subsequent momentum it brings!
(8) I keep a notebook of some sort with me everywhere I go. In terms of process and forward momentum, it's worth its weight in gold.
(9) I read. I read work relevant to my current writing project. I read fiction. I read drafts of colleagues' work.
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