How to draft fast without writing garbage (a 5-step system for scientists)

3 minutes of reading / How-to write guides
I used to write and write, only to end up with pages of garbage. Or I’d get stuck trying to make every sentence perfect — and produce almost nothing. Turns out, I wasn’t drafting. I was just overthinking. Once I learned what drafting actually means everything changed. Here’s the simple system that helped me write faster and think clearer.

How to draft fast without writing garbage (a 5-step system for scientists) Read More »

,

Why you should focus on the writing process, not just the finished journal article

5 minutes of reading / Newsletter
"Write the abstract first," or "start with the methods". I see this type of advice often in academic writing: it tells you what to do, but not how to do it – leaving you wondering what exactly you’re supposed to do. Here are some pieces of advice I’ve seen a lot, and why they tend to fall short in practice:

Why you should focus on the writing process, not just the finished journal article Read More »

,

Back in Feb 2025 (+ 10 writing resources to keep going)

3 minutes of reading / Newsletter
In my last newsletter, I wrote that I was going to keep sending newsletters, even though I'm going on maternity leave soon. Turns out, that was a wildly optimistic plan 😅. So, here’s what I’m going to do instead: I’ll share an overview of the writing resources currently available to you as a subscriber. Let's have a look!

Back in Feb 2025 (+ 10 writing resources to keep going) Read More »

, , ,

Why creativity helps to write an interesting Discussion section (+ 3 tips to get started)

5 minutes of reading / Blogposts
Creative thinking is essential for developing interesting new conclusions. Yet, as scientists, we’re often not actively trained in the divergent thinking skills needed for this. Hence, why Discussion writing is so hard. With practice, prior knowledge, and a mindful inner critic, we can foster creativity and make that Discussion easier to write.

Why creativity helps to write an interesting Discussion section (+ 3 tips to get started) Read More »

,

Structuring your writing process: 6 stages to produce more coherent papers

5 minutes of reading / Blogposts
The paper writing process comes in six stages: researching, prewriting, drafting, copy-editing, mechanical editing, and revising. By learning to recognise these, you can plan your process more effectively and avoid common pitfalls such as irrelevant side-quests and the perfect sentence vortex.

Structuring your writing process: 6 stages to produce more coherent papers Read More »

, ,
Scroll to Top