There are a lot of reasons that writing doesn’t get done. The least important things in many faculty’s evaluations (for example, teaching) have the greatest built-in accountability. Those things most important for tenure, promotion, and mobility (research and writing) have the least built-in accountability. WAGs provide structural and social support that can help faculty writers excel with grace.
In fall 2023, over 60 faculty writers are participating in WAGs. Groups meet once a week, focusing on goal setting, tracking progress, and social support. Some groups meet online while others face to face. WAGs encourage faculty to do two things to ensure success: plan and protect your writing time. To support your writing habit, a majority of our meeting time is devoted to writing. We start and end each meeting sharing progress and goals but, otherwise, spend time working on our own projects.
The goal of the groups are to help faculty writers develop healthy, sustainable, and productive writing habits. For an introduction to our WAGs, you can check out this brief video (6 minutes).
Note: Our WAGs are based on ideas from this university’s program.