The Rudder

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

THE RUDDER

Your Rudder profile, shared by only around 1% of academic and professional writers, shows that you have given yourself relatively high ratings (6 or above) for your Social and Emotional habits but low or moderate ratings (5 or below) for your Behavioral and Artisanal habits. This profile is called the Rudder because you create a sense of direction through your collegial connections and positive orientation, but may lack the power and structure to move consistently forward.

Your strengths and challenges create a distinctive pattern:

  • You frequently engage in fruitful conversations with others about your writing (Social).

  • You generally enjoy writing and have a positive emotional approach (Emotional).

  • You struggle to establish consistent writing routines and productivity (Behavioral).

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

This combination means you have a positive, connected approach to writing but may struggle to translate your enthusiasm and conversations into consistent, skilled output.

ACTION PLAN

To broaden the BASE upon which your writing practice is built, consider drawing on your strong social networks and emotional connection to help you establish a more productive routine and sharpen your writing skills:

  1. Transform Social Connections into Productivity Support

    • Create accountability relationships with specific, scheduled check-ins about writing progress.

    • Join or form a working group that writes together regularly to establish behavioral habits.

    • Develop collaborative projects with clear deadlines and responsibilities to drive production.

  2. Channel Your Enjoyment into Skill Development

    • Use your positive emotional connection to writing to sustain you through the learning curve of new skills.

    • Focus on developing specific writing techniques that align with what you already enjoy about writing.

    • Seek feedback on your writing in a way that builds rather than undermines your enthusiasm.

  3. Build Structured Social-Writing Experiences

    • Schedule regular writing sessions with peers that include both social interaction and focused writing time.

    • Create rituals that help you transition from social connection to productive individual writing.

    • Develop feedback processes that specifically address your craft development needs.

  4. Create Community-Based Learning Opportunities

    • Form or join skill-sharing groups where writers teach each other specific techniques.

    • Participate in workshops that combine social support with structured skill development.

    • Seek mentorship from writers who model strong behavioral and artisanal habits.

The WriteSPACE can help you with all of these things!

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

 
1%Victoria Silwood