See all articles in this issue

Writing Wednesdays was created to serve the NCFR Students and New Professionals (SNP) group during a summer marred by separation from school and work and increased difficulties associated with COVID-19. This program created a sense of community, increased productivity, drew on peer accountability, and presented the opportunity to gain feedback on manuscripts, outreach efforts, or theses and dissertations.

We’re Moving to Mondays This Fall – Join Us!
Mondays, Sept. 21 - Nov. 2, 11 a.m. –1 p.m. CT
Register at: bit.ly/WritingMondays

In spring 2019, SNP representatives met and discussed the need to provide NCFR members with the opportunity for additional resources and to create a sense of community during the pandemic. SNP recognized that going online affected the academic development of many of our members. There was a need to create initiatives that better supported the progress of students, researchers, and practitioners alike. Three initiatives were agreed on, one of which was Writing Wednesdays. NCFR staff worked quickly to establish a safe and secure Zoom profile for NCFR members to hold meetings virtually. SNP reps shared recruitment materials across NCFR discussion boards to encourage NCFR members to participate in the program. Additionally, SNP reps shared information across associated university emails, which enabled Writing Wednesdays to become a recruitment opportunity for new potential members to learn about services provided by NCFR.

To date, 36 individuals have registered for Writing Wednesdays. In total, 25 SNP have participated across meetings, and on average, 11 SNP have participated per meeting. Each Wednesday, members join the meeting, welcome one another, and share the progress that they have made on their writing over the previous week. Two 45-minute sessions, with a short break in between, provide dedicated writing time. Individuals are instructed to keep their webcams on; in this way, accountability to peers limits distractions. During the final 15 minutes, individuals share what they completed during the sessions and what they want to accomplish by the following week. In addition, guest speakers have shared more information to help members become more productive in their work, including NCFR member services.

There has been no formal study of this program, but there have been a series of shared sentiments about its effectiveness. For example, having a dedicated time each week with colleagues has made it much easier to maintain a stable writing schedule during the summer. Participants have noted that it is much easier to remain dedicated to a project when you know that your peers are helping keep you accountable for getting your work done.

Seeing the progress of others in the program has been reassuring and invokes a sense of accomplishment in getting work done. Members congratulate one another when someone overcomes a challenging task—and it can be rare for researchers to get positive feedback on completing difficult daily tasks. Often, we move from manuscript to manuscript with little recognition of our efforts. Working side by side with others, as we have in Writing Wednesdays, enables us to support the continued progress of members. In weekly meetings, many of us have shared the challenges of completing research. Hearing about the struggles and accomplishments of others is reassuring as we each work toward accomplishing our own goals—beyond a line on our curriculum vitae. It appears that building a sense of community may help diminish stress as SNP make progress.

Furthermore, Writing Wednesdays has become a source of collaboration among members. We have discussed potential collaborations and informally shared job and postdoc opportunities. In the wake of George Floyd’s death, we created a safe space to talk about some of the challenges of systemic racism. We anticipate that these collaborations will extend long past the summer.

From SNP comments and the Writing Wednesdays experience, we recommend that NCFR create and develop similar continued programming throughout the year. Doing so would further support NCFR’s mission to further develop a sense of community and collaboration. The positive effects of Writing Wednesdays could be replicated in additional programs and potentially lead to increased membership and recognition of members’ research. Further work could focus on implementation of measures to improve NCFR’s efforts to support ethnic and sexual diversity and first-generation students within membership and also create exposure for students who come from teaching-oriented universities.

The collegiality of NCFR has been a long-standing strength of the organization and development of future programs outside the annual meeting has never been more important, as in-person meetings have been curtailed during the pandemic. Our annual meeting always leads to good times, shared opportunities, and reconnecting with friends and colleagues. We hope that Writing Wednesdays has provided the same collegiality and opportunity.

We’re Moving to Mondays This Fall – Join Us!
Mondays, Sept. 21 - Nov. 2, 11 a.m. –1 p.m. CT
Register at: bit.ly/WritingMondays