Air & light & time & space: how successful academics write
(Book)
Description
This book is a guide for writers aspiring to become more productive and take greater pleasure in their craft. Helen Sword interviewed one hundred academics worldwide about their writing background and practices. Relatively few were trained as writers, she found, and yet all have developed strategies to thrive in their publish-or-perish environment. Sword identifies four cornerstones that anchor any successful writing practice: Behavioral habits of discipline and persistence; Artisanal habits of craftsmanship and care; Social habits of collegiality and collaboration; and Emotional habits of positivity and pleasure. Building on this "BASE," she illuminates the emotional complexity of the writing process and exposes the lack of writing support typically available to early-career academics. She also lays to rest the myth that academics must produce safe, conventional prose or risk professional failure. The successful writers profiled here tell stories of intellectual passions indulged, disciplinary conventions subverted, and risk-taking rewarded. Grounded in empirical research and focused on sustainable change, Air & Light & Time & Space offers a customizable blueprint for refreshing personal habits and creating a collegial environment where all writers can flourish.--
Copies
More Details
Notes
Reviews from GoodReads
Citations
Sword, H. (2017). Air & light & time & space: how successful academics write. Harvard University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Sword, Helen. 2017. Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write. Harvard University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Sword, Helen, Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write. Harvard University Press, 2017.
MLA Citation (style guide)Sword, Helen. Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write. Harvard University Press, 2017.
Staff View
Record Information
| Last Sierra Extract Time | Oct 13, 2025 07:24:11 AM |
|---|---|
| Last File Modification Time | Oct 13, 2025 07:24:39 AM |
| Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Oct 13, 2025 07:24:15 AM |
MARC Record
| LEADER | 03522cam a2200433 i 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | ocm959552314 | ||
| 003 | OCoLC | ||
| 005 | 20170821010705.0 | ||
| 008 | 160914t20172017maua b 001 0 eng | ||
| 010 | |a 2016041937 | ||
| 015 | |a GBB781836 |2 bnb | ||
| 019 | |a 959648874 |a 959872607 |a 989597843 | ||
| 020 | |a 9780674737709 |q (hardcover) |q (alkaline paper) | ||
| 020 | |a 0674737709 |q (hardcover) |q (alkaline paper) | ||
| 024 | 8 | |a 40027000843 | |
| 035 | |a (OCoLC)959552314 |z (OCoLC)959648874 |z (OCoLC)959872607 |z (OCoLC)989597843 | ||
| 040 | |a MH/DLC |b eng |e rda |c HLS |d DLC |d OCLCO |d YDX |d BTCTA |d OCLCF |d BDX |d YDX |d OCLCO |d EQO |d CHVBK |d OCLCO |d YUS |d LEO | ||
| 042 | |a pcc | ||
| 049 | |a LEOA | ||
| 050 | 0 | 0 | |a P301.5.A27 |b S94 2017 |
| 082 | 0 | 0 | |a 808.042 |2 23 |
| 100 | 1 | |a Sword, Helen, |e author. |0 http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr91005108 | |
| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Air & light & time & space : |b how successful academics write / |c Helen Sword. |
| 246 | 3 | |a Air and light and time and space : |b how successful academics write | |
| 264 | 1 | |a Cambridge, Massachusetts : |b Harvard University Press, |c 2017. | |
| 264 | 4 | |c ©2017 | |
| 300 | |a x, 266 pages ; |c 22 cm | ||
| 336 | |a text |b txt |2 rdacontent | ||
| 337 | |a unmediated |b n |2 rdamedia | ||
| 338 | |a volume |b nc |2 rdacarrier | ||
| 504 | |a Includes bibliographical references and index. | ||
| 505 | 0 | |a Preface: The house of writing -- Introduction: Building the BASE -- Part I. Behavioral habits: Finding time to write -- The power of place -- Rhythms and rituals -- Part II. Artisanal habits: Learning to write -- The craft of writing -- The other tongue -- Part III. Social habits: Writing for others -- Writing with others -- Writing among others -- Part IV. Emotional habits: The pleasure principle -- Risk and resilience -- Metaphors to write by -- Conclusion: Raising the roof -- Afterword: Beyond the house of writing. | |
| 520 | |a This book is a guide for writers aspiring to become more productive and take greater pleasure in their craft. Helen Sword interviewed one hundred academics worldwide about their writing background and practices. Relatively few were trained as writers, she found, and yet all have developed strategies to thrive in their publish-or-perish environment. Sword identifies four cornerstones that anchor any successful writing practice: Behavioral habits of discipline and persistence; Artisanal habits of craftsmanship and care; Social habits of collegiality and collaboration; and Emotional habits of positivity and pleasure. Building on this "BASE," she illuminates the emotional complexity of the writing process and exposes the lack of writing support typically available to early-career academics. She also lays to rest the myth that academics must produce safe, conventional prose or risk professional failure. The successful writers profiled here tell stories of intellectual passions indulged, disciplinary conventions subverted, and risk-taking rewarded. Grounded in empirical research and focused on sustainable change, Air & Light & Time & Space offers a customizable blueprint for refreshing personal habits and creating a collegial environment where all writers can flourish.-- |c Provided by publisher. | ||
| 650 | 0 | |a Academic writing. |0 http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh93009381 | |
| 650 | 0 | |a College teachers as authors. |0 http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85028392 | |
| 907 | |a .b25300350 | ||
| 945 | |y .i59218320 |i 20603359306 |l elan |s - |h |u 3 |x 0 |w 0 |v 6 |t 2 |z 09-07-17 |o - |a 808.042 Sword | ||
| 994 | |a C0 |b LEO | ||
| 998 | |e - |d a |f eng |a el | ||