Here are some ideas for ways you and your writing buddy/buddies can support each other over the course of the programme (and maybe after too!)
Weekly Review
Would it be helpful to start planning your writing time each week instead of just fitting it in around the edges or letting it be cannibalised by other commitments? Sit down with your buddy/ies (virtually) at a regular time — maybe immediately after each PARTICIPATE writing session, or Fridays at 4 pm, or Monday at 9 am, or whenever works — to review the past week and plan when you’ll write in the week to come and what you’ll work on when you do.
Show Up & Write
If writing is the priority that constantly slips out of the top spot on your list, then set a regular writing date with your buddy/ies. Put it on your diary and build a fence around it: protected, committed time. Many people find this accountability and companionship extremely helpful in building and supporting a practice of focused writing time. It doesn’t have to be long — even just 30 minutes will help form the habit and keep you in regular touch with your project(s).
Extended Time
Block out an extra 30 minutes after each PARTICIPATE session, get a hot drink and sit down together on Teams or another platform to build on what came up in the session and catch up in a more casual way about what you’re noticing and learning, what you can celebrate, what challenges you are facing, etc.
Walk & Talk
If you are regularly on campus at the same time, or if you live nearby, get outside together for a 20-minute walk once a week and talk about how things are going in your writing life.
Sharing Work
If you decide to share work with each other, here are some tips.
1. Share work of a reasonable length. Your buddy probably doesn’t need to see your entire chapter in order to give you the kind of feedback you need; just the introduction might be enough!
2. When you ask your buddy to read your work, also tell them the kind of feedback you’re looking for. What questions do you want them to answer? Do you have concerns about your argument, your clarity, your use of transitions, whether you are giving too much context or too little, whether the way you’ve structured things make sense to a reader, etc.? Ask for what you need and BE SPECIFIC.
3. Also tell your buddy what kind of feedback you DON’T want. If you give them an early draft, you’re probably not going to want feedback around word-choice or phrasing, for example. Or, if their expertise is very different than your own, you might tell them you’re not looking for feedback on your argument itself but rather on the way you’ve articulated it.
4. Consider whether you want written feedback or verbal feedback. It can be a lot easier for a reader to jot some notes to themself and then just talk to you, rather than trying to synthesise all their thoughts into coherent written comments.
5. Take turns!