Session 3B: Breakthrough Writing: Narrative and Reflective Strategies for Editors

Presenters: Donna M. Nickitas, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CNE, FAAN, Editor, Nursing Economic$–The Journal for Healthcare Leaders and Professor, Hunter College, City University of New York.
Joy Jacobson, MFA, Co-Director, Program in Narrative Writing for Health Care Professionals, Center for Health, Media, & Policy, Hunter College and Adjunct Faculty, Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing.
James Stubenrauch, MFA, Co-Director, Program in Narrative Writing for Health Care Professionals, Center for Health, Media, & Policy, Hunter College and Adjunct Faculty, Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing.

Moderator: Suzan Kardong-Edgren, PhD, RN, ANEF, CHSE, Editor, Clinical Simulation in Nursing

Date and Time: Wednesday, August 6, 10:30 am to 11:20 am
Location: Regency Room

Objectives:

1. Discuss some of the most common difficulties writers face.
2. Describe several narrative and reflective strategies for overcoming them.
3. Engage in exercises designed to editors appreciate writing as a process of discovering by learning what they want to say and how to say it, clearly and concisely.

Abstract:

Writing is a process that requires clarity of thought, patience, and perseverance. No matter how experienced, every author sooner or later encounters barriers while writing—and editors are no exception. Nurses who write may face an additional challenge: while they have fascinating stories to tell, they often have little formal education in the essentials of writing, self-evaluation, and revision. As an editor of a nursing publication, have you struggled to help authors cultivate a more engaging and persuasive voice in their writing? Have you felt your own voice going numb after another long day of trying to breathe life into others’ jargon-clogged prose?

In this presentation we will discuss some of the most common difficulties writers face and several narrative and reflective strategies for overcoming them—strategies that have been shown to build nurses’ confidence and encourage the cultivation of an authentic voice. Participants will engage in exercises designed to help them appreciate writing as a process of discovering what they want to say and how to say it, clearly and concisely.

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Powerpoint: Nickitas Jacobson INANE 2014