Every Summer Needs a Writing Plan

The eventful winter semester at my university is finally over. Due to the two-months long labor strike, the semester ended at the end of May instead of mid April. I don’t teach in the summer, so for me, the research and writing season is in full swing. Below are my writing plans for the summer. (The point form is my best friend!)

1. Revise and resubmit two manuscripts for which I received reviews in April. (One was resubmitted last night! I will resubmit the second by June 15 – a month ahead of the deadline I was given because I want this work published desperately.
2. Repackage another manuscript that I withdrew from a publication and submit it to a journal by June 22.
3. Complete two writing pieces that I began last year. Both are short(er) thought pieces that I am aiming to submit to STS journals. I love writing thought pieces!
4. I am co-writing a research article with my colleague Dr. Melanie Baljko at Lassonde School of Engineering. We aim to submit it to by the end of July.
5. My other co-writing task is with Dr. Andy Hong at the University of Utah. We are in the analysis and write up phase of a systematic literature review that we began late fall in 2022.

All of the writings are either on Uber and Lyft, smartphone apps for transportation purposes, or travel behavior of older adults and people with disabilities. That is a total of six writing pieces that I need to complete this summer. In my reliable digital Passion Planner, I have a breakdown of what I will do each week to meet my deadlines, especially for the solo writing projects. The list above is the abridged version, of course.

To support my intense writing plan, I will take advantage of the online writing groups I belong to and attending as many sessions as I can. Along the way, I will be rewarding myself with small gifts and one very large one: a trip to Montreal for FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE JAZZ DE MONTREAL. I feel giddy simply thinking about it!

I got the inspiration for the title from the amazing people at NCFDD, by the way.