WriteFest 2024
WriteFest is an academic write-a-thon that happens during November every year, catering to the specific needs of research and academic writers. WriteFest aims to support researchers to:
- Develop good writing practices, strategies and habits
- Protect time for writing as part of the working day
- Overcome blocks and take a proactive approach to writing
- Join a community of writers to share writing experiences
Here at Liverpool, we will be joining the celebration with a month of writing related activities. You can also view our Writing Resources for Researchers Wakelet!
Join the WriteFest Community!
Join the WriteFest Teams channel and share your writing goals for the month with a friendly community of peers who can provide support, encouragement and accountability. Share your daily or weekly writing progress and celebrate your achievements! Join the WriteFest Teams community here!
Shut Up and Write Retreats
Each week during WriteFest 2024 there will be two Shut Up and Write virtual writing retreats: 2 hours of protected time allowing participants to focus on a writing project of their choice, strengthened by accountability and supported by a community of peers. Join the Shut Up and Write Teams group here!
Programme of Events and Resources
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Warm up to WriteFest! |
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Here are some writing-related activities happening in the run up to WriteFest: Shut Up and Write – Virtual writing retreats every Tuesday (09:00-11:00) & Friday (10:00-12:00). Join the SUAW Teams group here Writing at University – series of 5 sessions (16th, 23rd & 30th Oct and 6th & 13th Nov) helping PGRs and staff to build on their existing academic writing skills, with each session focusing on different aspects of academic writing. Register for the sessions by clicking on the dates above and join the Writing for University Teams group here Supporting Narrative CVs: From first steps to feedback – Tuesday 22nd October 10:30-12:00, in-person workshop open to professional services and research-enabling staff across the University – Register here Developing PGRs as academic writers – Wednesday 23rd October 12:00-13:00 – PGR Supervisor Network hybrid seminar – Register here (for PGR Supervisors only) Writing a literature review – Thursday 31st October 11:00-11:45, online – Register here |
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Week 1: 4 - 8 November |
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Monday 4th November |
Get Writing! The value of #AcWriMo for getting writing done Blog post by Dr Eli Saetnan |
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Tuesday 5th November
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Shut Up and Write Virtual writing retreat |
09:00-11:00 |
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Fellowship Quest: Navigating the journey from Pre-Application to Success This online RSA Lunch & Learn session provides an introduction to applying for a fellowship – how to go about it, what to consider and what support might be available. Presenter: Brigid Bell & Dr Suzanne Palmer, Research and Partnerships |
13:00-14:00 View the recording here |
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CV Masterclass for PGRs An interactive CV Workshop for PGR students that will help you to build a tailored CV to match your skills, experience and career aspirations. Presenter: Cornelia Nelson, Careers & Employability |
14:00-16:00 Register here (open to PGRs only) |
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Creating a Data Management Plan using DMPonline Book a 30 minute in-person slot to discuss and use DMPonline for writing your data management plans. Presenters: The Research Data Management Team |
14:00-16:30 (book a 30 minute slot) |
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Wednesday 6th November |
Writing at University - session 4 of 5 Part of a series of 5 online sessions (16th, 23rd & 30th Oct and 6th & 13th Nov) helping PGRs and staff to build on their existing academic writing skills, with each session focusing on different aspects of academic writing. Presenter: Tim Allen, English Language Centre |
09:00-10:00 |
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Thursday 7th November
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Narrative CV Clinics 20-minute online Teams sessions to get one-to-one feedback on the narrative CV you're developing for an externally funded research proposal. You must submit your CV and draft project proposal for review by Monday 28th October. Presenters: Hannah Dutton & Brigid Bell, Research and Partnerships |
Bookings open Wednesday 16th October. Visit the Narrative CV Clinic Intranet page for more information and how to book. |
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Academic Writing for Late Stage PGRs Explore the practicalities of thesis writing, including planning techniques, appropriate writing style, and writing to completion. Presenter: Dr Sally Hoare, Researcher Development and Culture |
09:30-12:30 Register here (open to PGRs only)
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Getting started with academic publishing and open access This online session will introduce the basics of academic publishing and provide you with the knowledge and confidence to choose the most appropriate outlet in which to publish your work. Presenters: Karen Blower, Open Research, and Liam Kaye, University of Liverpool Library |
14:00-15:00 |
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Friday 8th November |
Shut Up and Write Virtual writing retreat |
10:00-12:00 |
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Advanced Endnote In this hybrid (online and in-person) session will cover organising your Endnote library, handling PDFs and merging thesis chapters. Presenters: Louise Minta and Liam Kaye, University of Liverpool Library |
11:00-12:00 |
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Week 2: 11 - 15 November |
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Monday 11th November |
Strategies to help make the power hour work for you Presenter: Dr Eli Saetnan |
Pre-recorded video. |
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Tuesday 12th November
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Shut Up and Write Virtual writing retreat |
09:00-11:00 |
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Academic Writing for Mid-Stage PGRs Deepen your understanding of academic writing and develop good writing practices. This online workshop will focus on how to start writing, how to keep going and how to finish, covering initiating and managing a manuscript, structure, productive writing techniques and a short introduction to new collaborative writing tools. Presenter: Dr Sally Hoare, Researcher Development and Culture |
09:30-12:30 Register here (open to PGRs only) |
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How to get published in Nature - an ex-editor's perspective An overview of how high-profile science journals work and how to write to maximise your chances of success of publishing in them. Presenter: Dr Jane Rees, Research and Partnerships |
14:00-15:00 |
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Wednesday 13th November |
Writing at University - session 5 of 5 Part of a series of 5 online sessions (16th, 23rd & 30th Oct and 6th & 13th Nov) helping PGRs and staff to build on their existing academic writing skills, with each session focusing on different aspects of academic writing. Presenter: Tim Allen, English Language Centre |
09:00-10:00 |
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Thursday 14th November |
Best practice for Research Data Management Online session for staff and PGRs discussing writing data management plans, as well as managing, storing and sharing data. Presenter: Jacqueline Vigilanti, Research Data Management team. |
14:00-15:00 |
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Overcoming Writer’s Block Learn the common roadblocks for writing and how to combat them in this in-person live workshop. Presenter: Dr Amy Birch, Researcher Development and Culture |
14:00-16:00 |
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Friday 15th November |
Shut Up and Write Virtual writing retreat |
10:00-12:00 |
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Week 3: 18 - 22 November |
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Monday 18th November |
Writing Policy Briefings This online workshop provides a guide for researchers interested in writing targeted policy briefings with potential to generate genuine impact. Presenter: Dr Tom Arnold, Heseltine Institute |
13:00-14:30 |
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Tuesday 19th November
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Shut Up and Write Virtual writing retreat |
09:00-11:00 |
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Hook, Line and Research: How to Perfect your Academic Abstract Learn the essentials of crafting effective abstracts, including tips, common pitfalls, and peer feedback for your own work. Presenters: Mareike Wehner and Dr Natalie Wallis, Outputs Development |
14:00-15:00 |
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Creating a Data Management Plan using DMPonline Book a 30 minute in-person slot to discuss and use DMPonline for writing your data management plans. Presenters: The Research Data Management Team |
14:00-16:30 (book a 30 minute slot) |
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Wednesday 20th November
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The PhD Thesis - What does it actually look like? November is Academic Writing Month, and many PGRs will be busy making progress on their thesis at this time. But what does a good thesis actually look like? In this session, we will discuss some of the different thesis format options available along with strategies for supporting PGR students to design their own PhD thesis. Presenter: Dr Eli Saetnan, Academic Development |
12:00-13:00 Register here (open to PGR supervisors only)
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Academic reading for academic writing This online session is designed to help participants develop skills and strategies for academic reading which feed into their academic and research writing. Presenter: Dr Jeni Driscoll, English Language Centre |
13:00-16:00 |
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Thursday 21st November |
Mastering the art of writing for non-academic audiences Join this online session to take the first steps of your non-academic writing journey. During the session we will guide you through different writing forms, writing routines and give you space and time to put your inspiration onto paper. Presenter: Dr Andrew Holmes & Dr Stefania Silvestri, Researcher Development and Culture |
13:00-14:30
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Friday 22nd November |
Shut Up and Write Virtual writing retreat |
10:00-12:00 |
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Writing without discipline How can writing change your thinking? And how can understanding how people write, change the way you think about and approach writing? This interactive online workshop uses video and face to face materials to help participants get to grips with creative writing methods and techniques to introduce new ways of building writing into your daily routine. Presenters: Dr Amy Birch & Dr Andrew Holmes, Researcher Development and Culture |
13:30-15:30 |
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Week 4: 25 - 29 November |
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Monday 25th November |
Copyright and your PhD thesis In this online session you will learn about the issues to consider when including material created by other people in your PhD thesis. Presenter: Martin Wolf, Open Research, & Liam Kaye, University of Liverpool Library |
10:00-11:00 |
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Advanced Literature Searching In this hybrid (online and in-person) session you will explore some tips and tricks for advanced literature searching. Presenter: Dr Bryony Parsons, Researcher KnowHow |
12:00-13:00 |
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Tuesday 26th November |
Shut Up and Write Virtual writing retreat |
09:00-11:00 |
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RSA Writing Retreat Join the RSA for a day-long in-person writing retreat, with structured writing sessions and support. |
09:30-16:30 |
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Wednesday 27th November |
Developing effective writing practices This interactive workshop will introduce you to different tools and techniques to boost your writing productivity. Presenter: Dr Sally Hoare, Researcher Development and Culture |
10:00-12:30 Register here (open to PGRs only) |
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Thursday 28th November |
PGR Writing Retreat This full day in-person PGR writing retreat is designed to help participants develop skills and strategies for research writing. Presenter: Dr Jeni Driscoll, English Language Centre |
10:30-17:00 Register here (open to PGRs only)
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Friday 29th November |
Shut Up and Write Virtual writing retreat |
10:00-12:00 |
WriteFest 2024 Playlist
Listen to the WriteFest 2024 Playlist, especially created to celebrate Academic writing. The playlist has some background instrumental songs, some that are slightly upbeat to recharge energy as well as some that are linked to writing. Enjoy!
Researcher development resources
- Writing Resources for Researchers Wakelet
- Prosper's Communication Playlist
- Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Blog post Making time for writing
- Turbo Charge Your Writing video
- ResDevInYourPj’s bitezised video on Academic writing and WriteFest
- Free templates and planners to help with your writing, planning and collaboration.
- Data Statements – after you have cracked writing up your research and are pleased with your article, don’t forget that to maximise its impact and to comply if you are funded you need to add a data statement.
- Open Access – Now you have your article, you need to consider how to publish open access. If your research is funded you should be aware of your funder’s policy too.
Further resources
Research Funding and Outputs Hub - A suite of resources to support University of Liverpool researchers with the development of their research outputs, including Narrative CVs
Researcher KnowHow at the library
Back to: Researcher Hub