DP&L Episode 265: Do One Paragraph
Defend, Publish & Lead Podcast
In Episode 265, Christine Tulley offers practical advice for overwhelmed academic writers on how to make progress when time is limited by focusing on completing just one paragraph. She explains that paragraphs can serve various purposes—proposing new frameworks, introducing evidence, synthesizing literature, or challenging established views—and that working on a single paragraph is a manageable, non-threatening way to advance your writing even in small fragments of time. Tulley emphasizes that paragraphs have singular goals and typically take less than a full page, making them ideal units...
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DP&L Episode 264: Time Blocking Alternatives
Defend, Publish & Lead Podcast
In Episode 264, Christine Tulley explores alternatives to traditional time blocking for academic writers who struggle with scheduling designated writing periods. While acknowledging that time blocking works for some people, she presents three alternative approaches: dedicating entire days to writing rather than small time slots, blocking time for specific tasks instead of general "writing hours," and using a flexible weekly range system where writers set a minimum and maximum number of hours to complete each week without assigning them to specific times. Tulley emphasizes that traditional time...
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DP&L Episode 263: Interview with Brenda Ulrich, Academic Publishing Attorney
Defend, Publish & Lead Podcast
In this episode of Defend, Publish, and Lead, host Christine Tulley interviews Brenda Ulrich, a publishing attorney and board member of the Textbook and Academic Authors Association (TAA), about the organization and the upcoming 2026 TAA Summer Institute. Brenda discusses TAA's unique value as a cross-disciplinary organization focused on supporting textbook and academic authors throughout their writing careers, not just the writing process itself, offering guidance on contracts, copyright, marketing, and other industry matters. She highlights her upcoming presentation on publishing...
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DP&L Episode 262: Five Tweaks to Streamline Your Teaching
Defend, Publish & Lead Podcast
In Episode 262, host Christine Tulley offers practical strategies for faculty to optimize their spring semester teaching while protecting their scholarly writing time. She presents five countdown tweaks: Establishing and knowing your teaching, grading, and prep schedule Implementing pattern teaching to save preparation time Identifying grading-heavy weeks and adding extra writing time beforehand Reducing student complaints by providing assignment models and maintaining a bank of common explanations Selecting one specific teaching improvement goal for the semester (like better...
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DP&L Episode 261: Five Decisions to Make about Your Writing in 2026
Defend, Publish & Lead Podcast
In Episode 261, Christine Tulley, President and Executive Writing Coach at Defend, Publish & Lead, presents five key questions for academics to consider about their writing in 2026: whether to commit to or abandon zombie writing projects that have stalled, clearing out outdated writing debris like old files and emails, deciding how many hours per week to dedicate to writing given other obligations, developing strategies to actively promote published work beyond initial publication, and identifying one priority project to complete during the year. Throughout the episode, she draws on...
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DP&L Episode 260: Celebrate Wins
Defend, Publish & Lead Podcast
In Episode 260, Christine Tulley, President and Executive Writing Coach at Defend, Publish & Lead, emphasizes the importance of celebrating writing wins as the holiday season approaches, arguing that CVs often function more as stress-inducing evaluation documents than celebratory records of accomplishments. She demonstrates her approach using (a free digital writing journal that she loves but is not a sponsor), walking through how she reviews her Fall 2025 Semester Writing Project Mix to assess what she actually completed—discovering she finished 3 out of 4 planned projects,...
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DP&L Episode 259: When Do You Start Writing After the Holidays?
Defend, Publish & Lead Podcast
In Episode 259, Christine Tulley, President and Executive Writing Coach of Defend Publish & Lead, addresses the common question of when to start writing after the holiday break, emphasizing the importance of making this decision ahead of time rather than letting it remain nebulous as the calendar year flips. She shares her personal approach of designating January 5th as her first official day back to writing (separate from her first day of class), blocking out specific time slots in her calendar (9:00-11:30 AM on January 5th, 6th, and 7th for a total of seven and a half hours that week),...
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DP&L Episode 258: Skill Up Future You
Defend, Publish & Lead Podcast
In Episode 258, Christine Tulley, President and Executive Writing Coach of Defend Publish & Lead, discusses the importance of planning ahead for summer 2026 writing opportunities and skill development, even though it's only December 2025, because many programs open registration in January. She recommends several writing retreats and institutes she's personally experienced or researched, including Bard College's Institute for Writing and Thinking (a five-day immersive summer program focused on writing and teaching), Writing in Depth Academic Writing Retreat (a productive long weekend in...
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DP&L Episode257: 2025 Gift Ideas for Writers and Yourself
Defend, Publish & Lead Podcast
Christine Tulley, President and Executive Writing Coach of Defend Publish & Lead, presents her annual holiday gift guide for writers. This year the list focuses on budget-friendly items all priced at $50 or less. Here is her countdown of the Top 10 gift items for 2025 for writers or yourself: 10) 9) 8) 7) 6) 5) 4) 3) 2) 1) Resources Mentioned: Resources: HOLIDAY COACHING HOURS - All hours at lowest prices for the year Tuesday Toolbox - contact christine@defendpublishandlead.com for subscription information Set your writing goals with us! Try us out in a free consultation....
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DP&L Episode 256: Keep an Origin Story of Your Writing
Defend, Publish & Lead Podcast
Christine Tulley, President and Executive Writing Coach, explores the concept of maintaining an "origin story" for academic writing projects in the context of surveillance, power dynamics, and emerging technologies—the theme of the 2025 Big Rhetorical Podcast Carnival. She examines how various stakeholders (universities, publishers, plagiarism detection software, AI tools, and tenure committees) have claims to or surveillance over faculty writing, raising questions about ownership and originality. Tulley offers four practical strategies for documenting the development of writing projects:...
info_outlineIn Episode 265, Christine Tulley offers practical advice for overwhelmed academic writers on how to make progress when time is limited by focusing on completing just one paragraph. She explains that paragraphs can serve various purposes—proposing new frameworks, introducing evidence, synthesizing literature, or challenging established views—and that working on a single paragraph is a manageable, non-threatening way to advance your writing even in small fragments of time. Tulley emphasizes that paragraphs have singular goals and typically take less than a full page, making them ideal units for focused work during brief writing sessions, and she encourages writers to start with key structural paragraphs or troublesome ones that need revision, noting that these small efforts accumulate toward completing larger projects.
Resource Mentioned
DPL Resources
- Tuesday Toolbox - contact christine@defendpublishandlead.com for subscription information to get more videos like Lesson 13
- Set your writing goals with us! Try us out in a free consultation.
- Check out our current and past workshops at Eventbrite for writing support content. A FREE webinar is posted each month. Missed a workshop? Request a workshop or webinar recording from christine@defendandpublish.com
- Don't forget about the wonderful resources at Textbook and Academic Authors Association. The organization can be found at: https://www.taaonline.net
- New to TAA? Join for just $25 using discount code DP25! You will also receive a copy of the eBook, Guide to Making Time to Write: 100+ Time & Productivity Management Tips for Textbook and Academic Authors.