Includes bibliographical references and index

Preface: The house of writing -- Introduction: Building the BASE -- Part I. Behavioral habits: Finding time to write -- The power of place -- Rhythms and rituals -- Part II. Artisanal habits: Learning to write -- The craft of writing -- The other tongue -- Part III. Social habits: Writing for others -- Writing with others -- Writing among others -- Part IV. Emotional habits: The pleasure principle -- Risk and resilience -- Metaphors to write by -- Conclusion: Raising the roof -- Afterword: Beyond the house of writing

This book is a guide for writers aspiring to become more productive and take greater pleasure in their craft. Helen Sword interviewed one hundred academics worldwide about their writing background and practices. Relatively few were trained as writers, she found, and yet all have developed strategies to thrive in their publish-or-perish environment. Sword identifies four cornerstones that anchor any successful writing practice: Behavioral habits of discipline and persistence; Artisanal habits of craftsmanship and care; Social habits of collegiality and collaboration; and Emotional habits of positivity and pleasure. Building on this "BASE," she illuminates the emotional complexity of the writing process and exposes the lack of writing support typically available to early-career academics. She also lays to rest the myth that academics must produce safe, conventional prose or risk professional failure. The successful writers profiled here tell stories of intellectual passions indulged, disciplinary conventions subverted, and risk-taking rewarded. Grounded in empirical research and focused on sustainable change, Air & Light & Time & Space offers a customizable blueprint for refreshing personal habits and creating a collegial environment where all writers can flourish.--