The Write Idea

  Hello Fellow Writers, Recently I have been thinking about the issue of dependency in teaching and learning contexts and, to talk about this, I need to begin by sharing a story about my own learning experience this year. At the start of the lockdown - when we weren’t allowed to leave our houses to go for a walk or a run - I, like many others, went searching online for an exercise class I could follow and I, like many MANY others, found the internet sensation Yoga with Adriene . It had been more than 10 years since I took a yoga class, so I really was starting from scratch, but it was exactly what I was looking for – a structured 30 day programme to help me build strength and flexibility and, honestly, to keep me sane during these crazy times. Right away I resonated with Adriene’s informal style, warm personality, and her catch phrase ‘find what feels good’ – a sentiment similar to what I often say in writing workshops; find your own style as a writer. Those early weeks of y...

It has been just over two months since the lock down commenced, and I can definitely say some days are better than others. Initially, I found myself quite resistant to what was happening around me and soon realized it was because it happen so abruptly. There was no real preparation period or time to bid the “old normal” farewell. So I found myself taking a few weeks to take everything in and to find my feet again. The most challenging thing for me was finding my rhythm, especially in the comfort of my home. Being a postgraduate student that works predominantly in a laboratory, the idea of working from home was  completely new for me. The lack of pressure, deadlines and physically going to the lab/campus completely threw me off my usual productive routine. I was like a deer in headlights. Sure enough the writing lab newsletters came to my rescue and helped me find my rhythm of working from home.  The useful tips of finding my rhythm and things I could do to get the writing “bal...

During this lockdown, we have all experienced anxiety and stress at various degrees, mainly because of the uncertainty that surrounds us and the fear of the unknown, due to the Covid-19 epidemic.  Our daily pattern resembles that of a nonmonotonic graph. On some days we are very productive, our spirits are high, energy is on point and we get things done. Other days are just dull, energies are low, and we can barely even get through the introduction of an article. But I think there is no more comforting feeling than knowing that we are all in the same boat. We are all frustrated by the thought of how much time has gone to waste, precious time that we could have used to maybe optimize the first objective of our projects. We know we can never get this time back, so the best we can do is maximize on productive days, because there is no telling when that graph is going to start decreasing again.  I think the best thing we can do for ourselves right now is to celebrate the little “v...

It is almost nine weeks since the South African national lockdown was announced on the 26 th of March 2020. When the announcement was made that day, none of us were fully prepared for it, nor anticipated what was to come. Personally, I was in the middle of my lab work and had planned to get a good deal of work done before June. I remember cryo-freezing my cell cultures and packing away my reagents with the hope that soon, the ‘normal’ will resume. My last face-to-face conversation with my supervisor was filled with positive plans on what we will do as soon as the lockdown lifts. I was certain that it would only be for 21 days. But as I watched the statistics, the infection rate rising, and the leadership of the country put their heads together for solutions, I soon realised that we are truly living in unpreceded times and nothing is certain. Little scientific data is available on COVID-19, so we develop knowledge on it day by day. As I slowly tried to adjust to my new normal of writin...

Post by Dr Emmanuel Nwosu, a former FHS Writing Lab consultant. I have to raise my hand from my location in Cape Town to say that, during this lockdown, I am one of those who think that the world is turning upside down and we don’t know where this “ship” of coronavirus pandemic will get us to. Initially I was confused, overwhelmed, scared, cautious, avoidant of the new reality, and unmotivated to work. I guess my initial reaction was because I am not your typical adventurous personality (I only take the risk if it is worth it, or there is no other option, whatever that means). It takes a bit of time to come out from the shell and realize that nothing will change anytime soon. Therefore, it is important to ride the wave; wherever it takes us to, we will see. I shared a bit of my response to current realities because I think some of you – our clients – could relate to it. Probably others responded differently because of differences in personalities. This brings me to a point I would li...

  Dear Writing Lab Clients, Sawubona, welkom, wamkelekile, dumela, bonjour, jambo, ndaa, lotjhani, mohoro, avuxeni! I would like to welcome you to the second instalment of our weekly Writing Lab newsletter, ‘The Write Idea’ Last week, Natashia shared her thoughts on finding your writing process, your rhythm and your motivation during this time. We hope that you have managed to find some processes that work for you. Most of you that have been at my writing workshops, know that I always stress and encourage you to:      "Take risks, try new approaches to find out what doesn’t work for you, so that you don’t waste time following the crowd, thinking this must work for me. In this way, there is more time to get things done using approaches that           work for you." I find that my rhythm and process for productivity changes daily depending on how I envision ‘progress’ for that day. It is a tricky concept and one that I have spent...

  Dear Clients and Friends of the Writing Lab, I would like to welcome you to the first instalment of ‘The Write Idea’ , a weekly Writing Lab blog. Sawubona, welkom, wamkelekile, dumela, bonjour, jambo, ndaa, lotjhani, mohoro, avuxeni! Why a blog and why now? Well, to be honest, we miss you – we miss seeing your faces in workshops and hearing your voices, we want to connect with you, we want to hear your concerns, we want to share our thoughts and guidance about academic writing, we want to share useful resources to help you succeed, and we want to tell you our news and hear yours. So, we’re going to take it easy, keep it light, and see how it develops over time. I hope that you will join us on this journey.   While thinking about what to focus on in this first blog, I wondered what you are all going through? What different types of challenges each of you might be facing right now? And, I reflected on my own recent challenges with writing and productivity. T...