The four rules of writing

Roger Watson

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Advanced Nursing

Editor, Nursing Open

Why do you want to write?

Academic obligation

Career progression

Prestige of your institution

To share research findings

To disseminate good practice

Money

Because you enjoy it?

Overcoming the barrier

Behind every written piece there is a living,

breathing human being who overcame his or her

own challenges to express important thoughts on

paper

Dale Salwak (THE)

What is the main barrier to writing?

How to be a writer

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things

above all others: read a lot and write a lot.

There’s no way round these two things…no

shortcut.

Stephen King

Being a writer

I learned to write by writing

Professionalism comes from being able to write on a bad

day

Norman Mailer

Application to the job of writing

Apply the seat of your pants to the seat of a chair

and don’t get up until you’ve written something.

Beaverbrook

Application

Learn to write anywhere and everywhere

• Office

• Home

• Trains

• Planes

• Hotels

Keep a note book

Some don’ts

Don’t think about it

Don’t tell anyone about it

Don’t wait for inspiration

…just do it!

Just do it

You can edit a bad page….

…you can’t edit a blank page

Inspiration

Inspiration is the act of drawing the chair up to the writing

table.

Orhan Pamuk

Inspiration

Instead of planning or talking about your plan, I say, just get

something out on paper before you forget it – no matter

how uncertain you feel or how confusing it sounds.

I also suggest that (you) write the first draft before (you) do

any research.

Rarely do we know what we’re going to write about until

we’ve completed a first, stumbling draft

Dale Salwak (THE)

The four rules of writing

Read the guidelines

Set realistic targets and count words

Seek criticism

Treat a rejection as the start of the next submission

Journal guidelines

Journal guidelines

Journal guidelines

Length

Layout

Organisation

Referencing system

Setting targets

All good writers do this

Try to write a specific number of words per day or every

time you sit down to write

When you have reached your target…STOP!

Setting targets

Set daily targets, stick to them and give yourself plenty of

rewards afterwards. The people who succeed are those

who treat it like a job…

Phillip Hodson (THE)

Seeking criticism

Find a ‘critical friend’

Seek criticism of your writing

NOT THIS

OR THIS

THIS

Seeking criticism

Find a ‘critical friend’

Find the type of person who will tell a man:

“your trouser zipper is open”

Expect to have several revisions

…I’m one of the world’s greatest rewriters

James Mitchener

Learn when to let go

Dealing with reviewer’s comments

Apply the ‘golden rules’ (Williams 2004)

Rule 1. Answer completely

Rule 2. Answer politely

Rule 3. Answer with evidence

Answer completely

Deal with every point, even if you don’t agree or

can’t change it

Make a list of points – even if not presented with a

list

Answer politely

Don’t start with:

‘We completely disagree with the comments of the

reviewer’

‘Who on earth are your reviewers?’

…etc!

Answer with evidence

If you disagree with the reviewer then provide

evidence: facts and references

Edited by Karen Holland and Roger Watson

An invaluable guide on writing for publication, enablingthe reader to develop skills in writing articles,

book reviews and other forms of publications, written by experts in the field.

September 2012, 288 pages

ISBN: 9780470657829

£19.99 / €25.90 / $32.95

Order online at www.wiley.com

Prefer digital? Visit your e-book retailer to order

Writing for Publication in Nursing and Healthcare:Getting It Right

THANK YOU

Email: r.watson@hull.ac.uk

@rwatson1955