A student of thePOWERwritingmodelBrittany Rosen is an assistantprofessor in the College of Education,Cr iminal Just ice, & Human Servicesat the University of Cincinnati. Arecent Texas A&M University doctoralgraduate, Rosen credits the POWERwriting model with providing thestructure and strategies that helpedher complete her dissertat ion in atimely manner and achieve publishingsuccess.

Here Rosen explains the benefitsof the POWER wri t ing model.

TAA: You are a self-describedstudent of the POWER writingmodel. Gan you briefly explain thebasic steps of the rnodel?Brittany Rosen: "The POWER (Pro-moting Outstanding Writing for Excellencein Research) writing model encompassesprinciples andpractices allowing you toestablish a stress-free writing habit, increaseyour writing productivity, and improve yourquality of writing.

These principles and practices, whichcould be viewed as the basic steps, are(1) schedule your writing, (2) write quicklyand edit slowly, (3) keep and share a writing1og, and (4) give and get regular feedback.

Scheduling your writing time, atthe sametime every day, is the best strategy Lo help in-crease productivi ty and manage distractions.Iflriting (or generating) quickly allows youto be creative and turn-off the inner criticof whatever you are writing. Editing is ananalytic task, which is the opposite of gener-ating; it can be difficult to write when tryingto generate and edit at the same time. Usinga writing 1og provides you with a record ofhow much writing you are accomplishingand sharing this log with others keeps youaccountable to the amount of time youspend writing. Receiving feedback meansyou can correct arcas of your writing and

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ultimately improve your writing qualify.Giving feedback to other writers, sometimesconsidered more valuable than receivingfeedback, is also important because you cansee mistakes in others'writing that youmight not have seen in your own writing.

To get a more in-depth explanation of thePOWER writing model and to find morewriting strategies, I encourage you to readBecoming an Academic Writer: 50 Exer-cisesfor Paced, Productiue, and PowerfulWriting by Dr. Patricia Goodson."

TA[: As a recent doctoral gradu-ate, can you discuss hour yuubenefited from adopting thePOtllHR writing strategtes?BRI "As most people know, graduate schoolcan be avery stressful and demandingprocess, especially when writing a disserta-tion, taking courses, and applying for jobsall at the same time. Implementing thePOIflER writing model allowed me to haveahandle on these stressors. For example,keeping a writing schedule was vital to mysuccess of completing my dissertation inthree months. I wrote atthe same time everyday andwas accountable to connecting withmy project every day. This helped me reducethe amount of stress I had when writing mydissertation because I knew every day I wasmoving forward with the project.

The POWER model also helped me im-prove my writing and allowed me to find myvoice. You can ask any of my high schooland undergraduate teachers, and theywould say I was an AnflFUL writer. However,the POWER model encourages practicingdaily writing and values feedback. Throughthese strategies, I have greatly improvedmy writing quality and actually enjoyreceiving feedback to continue to developmy work."

Brittany Rosm, assistant professor,College of Education, Criminallustice E Hurnan Serui.ces,Uniuerisfii af Cincinnati

TAA: Which of these steps are themost heneficial to yoffr writfingproce$s amd vwhy?BR: "All of the POIflER practices are benefi-cial, but if I had to select the three most benefi-cial practices, I would pick scheduling writingtime, writing quickly and editing slowly, andreceiving feedback. Creating and keeping mywriting schedule is vital to mywriting process.Before the POWER model, I engaged in "bingewriting"-*titing for large chucks of the daybut not very often.Iflhile I was always able tocomplete assignments and manuscripts, theywere not high quality and I had unwarrantedstress. By scheduling writing time, I have low-ered my stress level and I touch on my projectsalittle bit every day, allowing me not to beoverwhelmed with writing. I even scheduledmy writing time to write this articlel

Writing quickly and editing slowly is theone tool I feel is my secret weapon. Iflhile I seegr aduate students, professors, and other wri te rstalk about writer's block, I know that when Istart a new manuscript or grant and I'mlooking at ablankpage, it will not be blankfor long. I do not struggle with writer's blockbecause I generate words quickly withouttrying to edit (or critique my writing) at thesame time. I am able to write freely, knowingthatlwill edit my text atadlffercnt time.

Feedback is critical to any writer, no matterwhat discipline, but feedback is beneficial to my 7)writing because feedback allows me to under- \Lr

stand what, in my writing, needs to be fixed, -[

reworded, edited, or cut. I want my writing tobe clear and concise andfeedback provides theopportunity to test my writing with differentaudiences. I use all types of people for feed-back from other gtaduate students, professors,friends, and even my mom."

Nthough these steps m y ^ppear

simple, awriter must actually implement these strategiesin order for them to work. And my writingproductivity continued on pa"qe 6

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TilXT ANI: Af ; , {*Hl '14 lC Ar- . r : l - i l { ] i !5 &g$*i l lATlOl 'J

Sub conscious pro ductivi gzAccessing )our inner selfBy Richard T. Hull

As a writer, I battle with procrastination, always have.At times I also find it strangely hard to revise my work. But in graduateschool I hit upon away of using my procrastination to produce nearlyfinal copy the first time. The "method" was suggested to me by readingthe Autobiograplry of Bertrand Russell.

In it, Russell describes how he would think intensively and longabout a proposed book topic, then dictate the book to his secretary, whowould send the manuscripts off to publishers with only a few changesin Russell's hand. I wondered at how Russell could compose his elegantprose in this way, and in particular how he could remember what heintended to say long enough to dictate.

Although itwas scary, I began trying to apply Russell's approachtomy own writing. I found that, f I were not"teady" to write yet, coherentprose would not flow. I would end up with a series of disiointedparu-graphs, or even sentences or ideas not connected in any coherentwayto afinalessay or chapter. But if I thought intensively for a few minuteseach day about the writing project, then put it out of my consciousmind, some kind of subconscious process would continue working onthe topic. When I would "return" in aday or two, coherent parugtaphswere "there" waiting to be written out.

I have found confirmation of this subconscious operation ofthought in another seemingly unrelated task crosswotdpuzzle solving.I've become addicted to the New York Times puzzles.I find thatan

initial working through all the clues across and down produces rela-tively little in the way of completed squares (except for the Mondaypuzzle,which always seems easiest); but each subsequent day,whenI return to the puzzle I find obvious what was perplexing before.Lgain, some kind of unconscious working through clues must behappening.

My terms for this subconscious phenomenon have included avafi-ety of metaphors: the notion of a shelf to which part of me repairs,viewing dispassionately whatthe rest of me is experiencing and doing;an adaptation of Freud's Unconscious, ascribing to it a kind of life ofits own, reflective, pondering, silent in the daily communications withothers. But frankly, I'm embarrassed to confess thatl have come tothink of it as the Slave Within, an inner ghost writer to whom I givewriting tasks, checking in from time to time to see how he (or she) isgetting alongwith them, adding where necessary additronal informa-tion or references. I have come to trust my Slave !flithin as reliable,and certainly worthy of my solicitude.

Am I nuts? I wonder whether others have a similar "method" ofwriting. There's an old joke that goes something like: "I hear there'sa conference on Schizophrenia: I'm of half a mind to attend." Is mybicamerulself, one a ghostlywriter enslaved to the other's writingprojects, common or not?

You tell me. t

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is evidence these strategies work; theywork in keeping me accountablein mywriting and help increase myproductivity;'

TAA: ls there any theory and/or res€erch that sup-ports that these typee of urriting stratcgies lead toproven results?BH: "The PO!7ER model was actually based on Peter Elbow's theoryof the writing process and research from psychology and neuroscienceliterature re gardin g talent development. Elbow su ggests good writin goccurs through the need to write badly (yes, I said write badly), anddevelop this bad writing through sharing early and late drafts. Onlywhen writers are comfortable with generating messy text, sharing thetext for feedback, and actually look forward to incotporutingthe feed-back into the writing, will they truly enjoy the writing process.

The research behind POWER indicates elite performance, such asskills shown by prolific scholars or elite athletes, is linked with deliberatepractice. Deliberate practice canbe described as practice in which you

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slow down,make mistakes, and correct these mistakes. Daniel Coyle,

T":;:'#:3T'fi!i;{iii'ffi1fl:::ii'T:Jt1lllffi, Ithe brain's nerve wires. Through myelin building, a person beginsto develop and refine hisAer ability and skills, to become anelitB a

performer-or in our case an elite writer.This theory and research is why the POVIER model is focused on

valuing messy writing (generating quickly), the importance of feed- ]

back, andthe need for deliberate practice (which includes receivingfeedbdck to correct mistakes).

TAA: llllhat ir your favorite beneflt of ?[A?BRI "My favorite TAA benefit is the opportunity it provides me toconnectwith otherwriters from different disciplines. Through this expo-sure, I have rcalized the writing issues I encounter are not singular tome-or my discipline. I value discussing, with otherwriters, solutionsto common writing issues." I

TTXT ANP ACAPHMIC AUTHORS ASSOC'ATION