The Arrow

 
An image created by Helen Sword for her Writing BASE diagnostic tool.
 
 

THE ARROW

Your Arrow profile, shared by around 2% of academic and professional writers, shows that you have given yourself a relatively high rating (6 or above) for your Behavioral habits but low or moderate ratings (5 or below) for your Artisanal, Social, and Emotional habits. This profile is called the Arrow because you have forward momentum and direction but may lack the breadth and dimension that would create a more fulfilling and effective writing practice.

Your strengths and challenges form a distinctive pattern. You have fairly productive work habits and make consistent time for writing (Behavioral), and yet:

  • You lack confidence in your writing skills and technical abilities (Artisanal).

  • You tend to work in social isolation without much collaborative input (Social).

  • You get little or no joy from the writing process itself (Emotional).

This combination means that you reliably produce writing output, but the experience may feel mechanical and isolated, and the results might not reflect the quality you desire.

ACTION PLAN

To broaden the BASE upon which your writing practice is built, consider adjusting your daily routine to develop your craft, social connections, and emotional experience:

  1. Leverage Your Productive Habits to Build Craft

    • Dedicate specific writing sessions to focus solely on improving particular writing techniques.

    • Create a systematic plan to develop your artisanal skills, applying your disciplined approach to skill-building.

    • Track your progress in specific craft elements the same way you track your productivity.

  2. Incorporate Social Elements Into Your Routine

    • Schedule regular feedback sessions with colleagues to improve your writing quality.

    • Join or create a writing group that meets on a consistent schedule that works with your habits.

    • Consider how collaborative writing projects might fit into your established writing routine.

  3. Find Sources of Writing Satisfaction

    • Identify small aspects of writing that you find even slightly satisfying and build on these.

    • Experiment with different writing approaches to discover what might bring your more pleasure and engagement.

    • Create rewards for writing accomplishments that help build positive associations with the process.

  4. Create an Integrated Practice

    • Design writing sessions that deliberately address multiple BASE elements simultaneously.

    • Balance your focus on quantity with attention to quality, connection, and experience.

    • Use your disciplined approach to systematically try new approaches to writing.

The WriteSPACE can help you with all of these things!

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