Brigham Young University
Faculty Center



Faculty Center Scholarship Workshop

PUBLISH AND FLOURISH: Write More and Worry Less

Click here for information about the current Scholarship Workshop

Introduction


"Publish and Flourish" is a workshop designed to help you flourish as scholarly writers. It is offered winter semester and consists of an initial two-day workshop in January and regular sessions throughout winter semester. For more information, or to enroll, click here. If you have addtional questions, please contact Jane Birch (jane_birch@byu.edu or 2-4008).

Overview of the Program


Studies indicate that certain habits of scholarship have a strong impact on scholarly productivity. This workshop introduces you to this research and helps you take advantage of it. For example, studies show that you will publish more when you set aside short blocks of time to write daily and seek feedback on early drafts.

When one group of faculty at a large regional university was asked to keep records on how much time they normally spent writing, they discovered they wrote less than 30 minutes per week and published an average of 4 pages per person per year. A second group of faculty wrote daily in short blocks of time (30 minutes per day), kept records of their time spent writing, and received support from others. This group produced an average of 36 pages per person per year—or nine times as much as the control group.

By participating in the Faculty Center Scholarship Workshop, modeled after sound research-based principles, you'll write more— and worry less.

Enrollment Requirements

We encourage you to enroll ONLY if you can commit to full participation, including the following:

  • Attend the two-day writing workshop (January)
  • Write daily (at least 15-30 minutes, five times per week throughout the semester)
  • Keep records of time spent writing
  • Attend a weekly or bi-weekly session to share drafts of writing (throughout winter semester)

The 2-day writing workshop is led by Tara Gray, Ph.D., faculty member and faculty developer at New Mexico State University. Dr. Gray actively works to help faculty become more productive as writers. As a workshop leader, she is spirited and engaging.

Sponsored by the BYU Faculty Center and Office for Research and Creative Activities (ORCA) and Text and Academic Authors (which advocates for scholars and for excellence in instructional materials).