Writer’s Diary

I’m a professor of anthropology. This is my diary about writing. When I transitioned from writing my dissertation to my first book Shifting Livelihoods, I often felt lost in the writing. It was hard. Time consuming. Difficult. At the time, I found inspiration in Virginia Woolf’s diaries, which I devoured hungrily. Years later, I remember the mental challenges that plagued her life, but also her thoughts on her process, the books she was working on, and the challenges she faced in doing the work.

I was reminded of that diary, when I came across David Smith’s Design Notes Diary. Smith is a iOS app developer who keeps a blog inspired by the slogan of the Field Notes brand of notebooks: “I’m not writing it down to remember it later, I’m writing it down to remember it now.” His Design Notes Diary is a place to reflect on the work that goes into writing iOS  apps.

With this in mind, I have begun my own diary about my writing. This to be a place where I come to reflect on my writing process. These notes are about process, practice, and craft of writing. It is about the difficulties of writing.

Perhaps these notes will be useful to you.