Time for an "upgrade:" How incorporating social habits can further boost your writing potential

Incorporating social writing habits into your practice has many benefits, including new ideas, growth and development, accountability, networking opportunities, better-focused writing, and even increased productivity. In this commentary, we discuss the social habits of writing as described by Dr. Helen Sword in her book Air & Light & Time & Space and provide suggestions for how to incorporate these habits in order to elevate your academic writing.

Social habits of writing include writing for others, writing with others, and writing among others. Writing for others highlights the important relationship between author and reader. As writers consider their audience, the goal is to share the efforts of their research or other learning, which includes lessons learned along the way. Serving as a peer reviewer can be beneficial to a writer's development and significantly contributes to the scientific community. Writing with others, or collaborating on a writing project, provides accountability, efficiency, and diversity of skills and viewpoints. When working with others, especially trainees, it is important to set clear expectations of roles, responsibilities, and timelines up front. Finally, writing among others, or working in concert with others but on different projects, can occur in person or virtually with the aid of technology. Writing among others can provide development, accountability, networking, and aid creativity.

We can all work to elevate our writing through attention to the social habits of writing. Developing and using these techniques may take time to implement. Practically, making small changes may be the most successful.