Creativity and Authorship - From Trepidation to a First Draft - Professional Roles and Publishable Writing

Writing for Publication: Transitions and Tools that Support Scholars’ Success - Mary Renck Jalongo, Olivia N. Saracho 2016

Creativity and Authorship
From Trepidation to a First Draft
Professional Roles and Publishable Writing

In William Golding’s (1974) classic essay, Thinking as a Hobby”, he describes thinkers at the lowest level thinkers as those who “warm their hands at the fires of their prejudices” (p. 10). Thinkers at the middle level as those who are immobilized by indecision and are in suspended animation, waiting for someone to provide the answers. Thinkers at the highest level as those who are willing to strike out in new directions, work at the edge of their competence, and risk disapproval by forging an idea that is uniquely their own. In most conceptualizations of human thought, creativity is the pinnacle (Anderson, Krathwohl, & Bloom, 2001).

The theoretical foundation for this book is the triarchic theory of intelligence (Sternberg, 1985, 1988) that includes three components: (1) the creative abilities to generate ideas, (2) the analytical abilities to decide which ideas to pursue, and (3) the practical abilities to implement ideas and persuade others of their value. Scholars’ success with writing for professional publication relies on all three types of intelligence as illustrated in the graphic below (Fig. 3.1).

Fig. 3.1 Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence as it applies to scholarly writing

Activity 3.1: Creativity and Authorship

Apply the triarchic theory of intelligence (Sternberg, 1985) to appraise your strength in each area.

1.

2.

3.

Based on many years of working with students and faculty as they write for publication, five of the most frequently asked questions are:

· How do authors get good ideas for manuscripts?

· What is a recommended way to identify suitable publishing outlets?

· How do I generate a first draft?

· Who can lend support as I strive to get published?

· If my manuscript was rejected, should I give up or persist?

The remainder of this chapter will address each of these concerns as a way to get things started.