{"id":12211,"date":"2025-07-17T12:43:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T17:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/?page_id=12211"},"modified":"2025-11-30T11:43:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T17:43:37","slug":"cila-writing-groups","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/cila-writing-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"CILA Writing Groups"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-modular-content-collection>\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\tclass=\"site-section site-panel__image_overlay panel panel-image_overlay site-section__bg--default\"\n\t\t\tdata-depth=\"\"\n\t\t\tdata-js-panel=\"image-overlay\"\n\t\t>\n\t\n\t\t<div class=\"site-section__inner site-section__inner--no-padding\">\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t<div role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Writing Alone together image\" style=\"background-image:url('https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/files\/2025\/07\/2014-10-28-09.49.03-1600x1200.jpg');\" loading=\"lazy\"  class=\"site-section__bg-img site-section__bg-img--m-stack\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t@media all and ( min-width: 960px ) {\n\t\t\t#site-panel__image-overlay-69d727d15bc57 {\n\t\t\t\theight: 300px;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t<\/style>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\n    \n\t<div id=\"site-panel__image-overlay-69d727d15bc57\" class=\"site-panel__img-overlay-wrap site-panel__img-overlay--no-ribbon horz-center vert-middle\">\n\n\t\t<div class=\"site-panel__img-overlay-content\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"t-content t-content--light\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"site-section__title bold\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-depth=\"0\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-name=\"title\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-autop\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-livetext\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWriting Alone, Together\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"site-section__desc\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-depth=\"0\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-name=\"content\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-autop\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-livetext\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4>Would you like your scholarly and creative work to be part of your weekly schedule? CILA invites you to sign up for a time to work individually on your projects in the company of others.<\/h4>\n<h4><strong>Open to all faculty and staff<\/strong>!<\/h4>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Spring 2026 CILA Faculty-Staff Writing Groups<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to join a writing group for spring semester, please <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/pvw8rQyB7KZAh5Xq5\">fill out this form<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>January 2026 Wednesday Writing Workshops<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The CILA \u201cWriting Wednesdays\u201d workshop series<\/strong>, led by Diane LeBlanc, Professor and Director of Writing, offers time, space, and guidance as you engage with your scholarly and creative work during and beyond January. The series takes a writing group approach, offering accountability and workshop activities in a small group. Each workshop provides practical support, writing time, community for sustaining progress, and opportunities to explore and practice different aspects of writing and creativity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Individuals may attend any or all of the workshops by using <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/syAficuWmpAMUhGD8\">this form<\/a>. Please respond by 4:00 p.m. on <strong>Friday, December 12.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>January 7, 2026<\/strong>: <strong>Staying Focused and Motivated<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10:30am-12:00pm and 1:30-3:00pm, Norway Room, Buntrock Commons<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Drawing from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/opinion\/career-advice\/advancing-faculty\/2025\/06\/18\/five-techniques-finding-summer-writing#\">\u201cWriting Advice for Interesting Times,\u201d<\/a> (<em>Inside Higher Ed<\/em>, July 2025) this workshop leads participants through five strategies for staying focused and motivated through changes and challenges. We\u2019ll set our January writing goals with brief reflection on writing and research habits that serve our progress well and not so well. We\u2019ll practice wandering, sprinting, and \u201cmicrowriting\u201d to consider how different paces serve different projects or parts of a project. We\u2019ll interpret \u201cproject\u201d broadly to include the scholarly, creative, administrative, and teaching materials we produce.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>January 14, 2026<\/strong>: <strong>Distilling Big Ideas<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10:30am-12:00pm and 1:30-3:00pm, Norway Room, Buntrock Commons<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>One project may take many forms as a conference presentation, a grant proposal, and a public lecture for non-experts. In this workshop, we\u2019ll work toward distilling a project concept to its essence while maintaining its purpose and accuracy. We\u2019ll practice communicating more with less for different audiences through a parlor game and a one-minute sound or movement piece. Each of us will develop prose or a visual for one key idea and develop next steps for turning big ideas into clear communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>January 21, 2026<\/strong>: <strong>Answering the \u201cSo What?\u201d Question<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10:30am-12:00pm, RNS 356, and 1:30-3:00pm, Norway Room, Buntrock Commons 101<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>At every stage of a project\u2019s development, we should ask, \u201cSo what?\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s my point?\u201d \u201cWhy does my audience care?\u201d \u201cHow does this material support my main idea and purpose?\u201d This workshop draws from <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/17NtdHDVcSmTwf7CeUd638dfv5B5cMk1n\/view?usp=sharing\">\u201cThe \u2018So What\u2019 Question\u201d<\/a> (from <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/19W_OpJ-GkNllPGw8gJt_FC_SfPkSNdmV\/view?usp=sharing\"><em>The Chronicle Productivity Guide to Writing &amp; Publishing<\/em><\/a>) to provide real-time response to the \u201cso what\u201d question. First, we\u2019ll reflect individually on the \u201cso what\u201d of our projects. Then, with a partner or small group, we\u2019ll summarize our projects and ask for impressions of a central theme or argument. We\u2019ll ask if or why that theme or argument matters for a particular audience. Writing time will focus on refining one area that contributes to the central theme or argument. This workshop is ideal for writers at any stage of the brainstorming, drafting, or revising process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>January 28, 2026<\/strong>: <strong>Deciding When to Share or Submit<\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10:30am-12:00pm, Norway Room, Buntrock Commons 101, and 1:30-3:00pm, RNS 356<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/opinion\/career-advice\/advancing-faculty\/2025\/08\/06\/good-enough-manuscript-opinion\">\u201cThe Good Enough Manuscript,\u201d<\/a> Laura Portwood-Stacer reminds us that waiting to submit a manuscript or proposal until we\u2019ve perfected it sometimes fatally delays its success. This workshop provides strategies for assessing a project\u2019s readiness to be shared for feedback or submitted for publication. We\u2019ll explore a framework for developing benchmarks, interventions, and internal deadlines. Everyone will develop an individual list of tasks required to complete a project, with one action step for moving toward sharing with a reader or submitting for review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Individuals may attend any or all of the workshops by using <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/syAficuWmpAMUhGD8\">this form<\/a>. Please respond by 4:00 p.m. on <strong>Friday, December 12.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fall 2025 CILA Faculty-Staff Writing Groups<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Fall 2025 writing groups have already been formed.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spring 2026 CILA Faculty-Staff Writing Groups If you&#8217;d like to join a writing group for spring semester, please fill out this form. January 2026 Wednesday Writing Workshops The CILA \u201cWriting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12211","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12211"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12606,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12211\/revisions\/12606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/cila\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}