6 Questions with Faculty Writer Audrey Ruple
How do faculty members write? Provost office writer Melody Warnick talked to Audrey Ruple for the first in a series of interviews with faculty members about the routines, habits, tools, and techniques that help them succeed at writing.
Audrey Ruple is an associate professor of quantitative epidemiology and Metcalf Professor of Veterinary Medical Informatics in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Not so coincidentally, she’s also a prolific scholarly writer (and a huge fan of faculty writing retreats). Here, she shares her secrets for getting stuff done, writing with grad students, and trying to fail.
What’s your writing routine?
It’s my goal to write for 30 minutes every day. My preferred time slot is first thing in the morning, before I check email or go online or anything else. I head into the office early so no one is around to bother me, and I set a timer and write.
Sometimes I do my 30 minutes and that’s it, I have to move on to other things. But Friday is a day I try not to schedule meetings, so that if I get into the writing, I’ll keep going. I still write every day, but on Friday I don’t have to stop writing for other things.
How do you stay motivated to write when you have so many demands on your time?
At this point daily writing is such a strong habit that I feel like I can’t go home at the end of the day until I’ve done my 30 minutes. But I also do a little habit stack, where I have a second cup of coffee as I write … and it’s nice coffee. I’ve seen what a big impact just 30 minutes of writing a day has had on what I’m able to produce. I’ve published 12 articles this year because my calendar has writing on it every day. Until everyone’s calendars actually reflect how important writing is for faculty, they won’t make progress.
Are there other ways you make time to write?
The Faculty Affairs writing retreats have been so helpful because they hold space for writing. People are taking care of you, they’re giving you snacks and drinks. It’s lovely! Anytime there’s a writing retreat that I’m at all available for I try to sign up. It sets writing as a priority.
Do you use any special tools for writing?
I bought really nice Stabilo art pens in every color that I use in my paper writing journal. Even though my grad students don’t understand it, I have a big white board in my office where I can just scribble whatever I want. I also use Asana to manage writing projects with grad students. We have a template for each paper that we’re writing so we can assign who’s going to do figure 1, who’s going to do the methods section. Students can see at a glance what everyone is working on in my lab, and it helps them understand what the writing flow is—what it takes to finish an article.
What’s a piece of helpful writing advice you’ve been given?
Park on the downslope. The idea is to leave your writing so that you know exactly what you’re going to work on next. It allows me to walk away and come back on Monday morning feeling like I’m excited to get to work again.
Any advice you’d give other faculty writers?
Swing big. I will often go for stretch publications, like Nature or Science. Sometimes they get back to you in 5 minutes with a rejection, but sometimes they send it off to an editor, and sometimes you get something accepted. I challenge myself to fail. If you’re not getting rejections, you’re not shooting high enough.