Beth L. Hewett, PhD, CT
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Caution: Switchback Curves Ahead!
If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re not going to get there. That would seem like an obvious statement, but with most types of writing there is no way to meet a goal or to complete the project without a well-considered idea of what the project is or what it should look like when…
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Use Your Software’s Formatting and Editing Tools
One of the most important things that dissertation, article, and book writers can do for themselves is to present their hard-earned texts in a professional manner. Sloppy presentation of an otherwise powerful text is like going to a formal wedding in yoga pants. No one cares what’s on the inside when the outside is inappropriate.…
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Cruising Social Media Isn’t Going to Help You Finish Your Project
Facebook. Instagram. Pinterest. Face Time. Skype. Linked In. Web browsing. Email. Instant messaging. Google Hangouts. Game of Thrones. Solitaire. Every possible way to put off a task can be found on the Web. For most of us, these handy distractions are fully available and calling our names from the computer or mobile device on which…
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When You’re Stuck, Take a Walk
Writer’s block comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s a little brain-blip, where it seems impossible to think anymore and your brain itself seems to hurt. This experience of writer’s block is fairly easily handled. Usually taking a short break will do it. Many (many) years ago in college, we used to call this…
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Not Every Idea Is a Good Idea
I know. Your ideas are always good. Sure, so are mine. No, not really. A professor once said to a friend of mine, “Not every idea is a good idea” in response to her earliest dissertation concept. She was hurt. But she took it to heart and refined her thinking. Her next idea was better…
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What Does it Mean to be Finished
Being finished with a piece of writing is an interesting concept. In some ways, writing is never finished. We can always think of a different way to say something or something new to put into an article, essay, dissertation, or book. Sometimes, if we’re really involved in the piece, we’ll wake up at night with…
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Working Well with Your Adviser
Advisers. You can’t live with them; you can’t live without them. Actually, most of the time, your adviser is a good ally to the dissertation project. This person – for some reason – has opted to work with you for a lengthy gig that may take a few years. That’s quite a commitment to you…
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Managing Your Committee
One of the most challenging parts of writing a dissertation is the need to work – perhaps for the first time – with a committee of scholars who will judge your writing and your preparedness for the degree. It can be difficult to juggle the need to listen to these people and follow their advice…
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The tattoo and the Ph.D.
I don’t have a tattoo. I probably won’t get one, but I do have a Ph.D. While the degree is one I’ve earned and will always be with me–kind of like a tattoo is permanent–the goals that got me the Ph.D. and the tattoo are different in their permanence. When I see people who have…
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When the going gets tough…
Working on your dissertation you suddenly realize that you hate the topic, the direction its going and the entire process. Those feelings, while not unusual, can make the going get really tough. How do you get going again? I’ve encountered that problem recently with a writer I’m coaching. The topic she chose more than a…