The Whisper Collective Podcast Narelle Lemon, Inger Mewburn, Tseen Khoo and Jonathan O'Donnell

This pod explores the topic of writing and fear via an interview by Cristina Munoz with the legendary writing teacher Peter Elbow. Hear how Peter approaches the problems of the blank page and Cristina's reflection on her own developing practice as a writer.


This pod is part of a series called 'Your Brain on Writing', facilitated by Prof Inger Mewburn and Prof Paul Magee as part of the Centre for Public Awareness of Science internship program at ANU.

Welcome to a series of eight episodes that focus on writing well and being well for writing. This is the seventh.
You will need to write an Acknowledgements section in your thesis, and you can have fun working out who you will thank and how you’ll include acknowledgements in your thesis. But you might also want to make a less formal, less constrained, more honest version. 
Here, for example, is my gratitude list. 
This practice comes from Chapter 7, ‘Rewriting’  in Writing Well and Being Well for your PhD and Beyond.
Come listen to a lot of lovely things that make me grateful, and think about what you are grateful for. 
 
Read more of Katherine’s reflections and practices on her blog, Research Degree Insiders https://researchinsiders.blog
Read Katherine’s other books https://researchinsiders.blog/books/ 
Connect with Katherine on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-firth-0786b026/ 
Wellbeing and Self-care in Higher Education: Embracing Positive Solutions (Book series that Katherine’s book is about) https://www.routledge.com/Wellbeing-and-Self-care-in-Higher-Education/book-series/WSCHE 
Find out more about the book series edited by Narelle Lemon http://www.exploreandcreateco.com/book-series-wellbeing-selfcare-in-higher-education 
 

Welcome to a series of eight episodes that focus on writing well and being well for writing. This is the eighth.
Mindfulness is about being present in the moment with your writing, but there may be difficult feelings there. It can help to move from rehearsing how badly you feel, to articulating a beneficial wish for everything and everyone around you, including yourself. And apply it more specifically to your writing practice. 
This practice comes from Chapter 8, ‘Conclusion’  in Writing Well and Being Well for your PhD and Beyond.
Maybe you could dial up the positive talk, to yourself and others. How does that feel? What grace could be experienced? 
 
Read more of Katherine’s reflections and practices on her blog, Research Degree Insiders https://researchinsiders.blog
Read Katherine’s other books https://researchinsiders.blog/books/ 
Connect with Katherine on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-firth-0786b026/ 
Wellbeing and Self-care in Higher Education: Embracing Positive Solutions (Book series that Katherine’s book is about) https://www.routledge.com/Wellbeing-and-Self-care-in-Higher-Education/book-series/WSCHE 
Find out more about the book series edited by Narelle Lemon http://www.exploreandcreateco.com/book-series-wellbeing-selfcare-in-higher-education 
 

Welcome to a series of eight episodes that focus on writing well and being well for writing. This is the sixth. 
Some days, what we need is moderation. Your breath can help you get into the right headspace for that too. Here is an equal breath practice for balanced thinking.
This exercise is all about the counting. It’s just complicated enough that you can’t multitask. The equal breathing means your brain should settle into a state that’s not too sleepy and not too fired up but just-Goldilocks-right for the task. 
This practice comes from Chapter 5, ‘Editing’  in Writing Well and Being Well for your PhD and Beyond. 
Even everything out so you are balanced in this 2-minute breathing practice. 
 
Read more of Katherine’s reflections and practices on her blog, Research Degree Insiders https://researchinsiders.blog
Read Katherine’s other books https://researchinsiders.blog/books/ 
Connect with Katherine on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-firth-0786b026/ 
Wellbeing and Self-care in Higher Education: Embracing Positive Solutions (Book series that Katherine’s book is about) https://www.routledge.com/Wellbeing-and-Self-care-in-Higher-Education/book-series/WSCHE 
Find out more about the book series edited by Narelle Lemon http://www.exploreandcreateco.com/book-series-wellbeing-selfcare-in-higher-education 
 

Welcome to a series of eight episodes that focus on writing well and being well for writing. This is the fourth
Breathing is amazing. Your brain checks in on your breathing to find out how things are going in the body, including to work out if it should help out by pumping out stress or calm reactions. So choosing your breath can help you influence your emotions. 
If you sit down to write and feel your ‘flight’ or ‘freeze’ stress reaction activate because you want to run away from the scary writing, then that will get in the way of the thing you want to do, which is stick at the desk and write some words. Here is a calming breath practice for when writing stresses you out in a bad way.
This practice comes from Chapter 5, ‘Editing’  in Writing Well and Being Well for your PhD and Beyond.
Take a deep breath, find some calm before you start writing in this 2-minute breathing practice. 


Read more of Katherine’s reflections and practices on her blog, Research Degree Insiders https://researchinsiders.blog
Read Katherine’s other books https://researchinsiders.blog/books/ 
Connect with Katherine on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-firth-0786b026/ 
Wellbeing and Self-care in Higher Education: Embracing Positive Solutions (Book series that Katherine’s book is about) https://www.routledge.com/Wellbeing-and-Self-care-in-Higher-Education/book-series/WSCHE 
Find out more about the book series edited by Narelle Lemon http://www.exploreandcreateco.com/book-series-wellbeing-selfcare-in-higher-education 

Welcome to a series of eight episodes that focus on writing well and being well for writing. This is the fifth.
Taking a deep breath often makes us think about calming down. But we can use our breathing to get fired up too. The other part of the ‘flight and freeze’ response is the ‘fight’ instinct. If you find feeling like fighting gets you excited about writing, then a calming breath isn’t going to help you, you’ll need something to fire you up instead. Here is an energizing breath for firing up your writing. 
This practice comes from Chapter 5, ‘Editing’  in Writing Well and Being Well for your PhD and Beyond. 
Wake up your breath and your brain and your writing in this 2-minute breathing practice. 
 
Read more of Katherine’s reflections and practices on her blog, Research Degree Insiders https://researchinsiders.blog
Read Katherine’s other books https://researchinsiders.blog/books/ 
Connect with Katherine on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-firth-0786b026/ 
Wellbeing and Self-care in Higher Education: Embracing Positive Solutions (Book series that Katherine’s book is about) https://www.routledge.com/Wellbeing-and-Self-care-in-Higher-Education/book-series/WSCHE 
Find out more about the book series edited by Narelle Lemon http://www.exploreandcreateco.com/book-series-wellbeing-selfcare-in-higher-education