How does an idea become an article?: A thread, based entirely on my own experience and working practice.
#academictwitter @AcademicChatter

CW: Mention of sexual violence/trauma 1/

In 2015, I went to a conference on violence. I was talking about Lars Von Trier's 'Antichrist' and something started to fizzle in my brain. At that point, the idea was 'sex... violence... vagina... wound... trauma'. My brain was turning these words over in my head. 2/

On the train heading home, I wrote some scruffy notes on a loose post-it and allowed my brain to mellow. Still mulling the idea, but not pushing it. 3/

A few days later, I went back to the notes and wrote more. Neater and more organised, with some suggestions for other texts and theory to use. I also started to outline the things I don't know and need to look into. I started reading, rewatched Antichrist, thought some more. 4/

Then I typed up the notes and started trying to form full sentences and paragraphs. You can see where I use the 'strikethrough' tool to mark stuff that I used directly to avoid double-quoting. I also started to insert proper references so nothing got lost in the mix. 5/

This next stage is vague... the notes document became a 'proper' essay. Using my double monitors, lots of cutting and pasting, and adding in stuff where needed, I constructed the first iteration that looks like an article, in continuous prose, with full references. 6/

Add the metadata, check over the document... and submit. You should check what information to include but it's typically contact info, abstract and keywords.
The following stages tend to differ from journal to journal. Some use online submission portals, others do not. 7/

But... ta-dah! From weird vague thoughts and post-it notes, to lovely glossy printed article in Film International. 8/

As you can see, my papers are written in layers, with ideas and details being added at all stages and then the rough notes being fully 'translated' into fully referenced academic prose. Of course, a lot of people DON'T write papers like this. 9/

Some go straight for it and do all the stages at once, building an article from scratch without the notes stage. Some people write full documents with increasing levels of detail and citation. There is no right answer. 10/

This just happens to be the way I do it. Part of developing as an academic writer is finding the style that works best for you. I haven't always used this way of working but I find it most effective and compatible with my learning style. And that's the most important thing. 11/

Now, I must get back to my latest writing project, which is not about vaginas but lace... and childbirth. Because why not! #academictwitter #acwri #acwrimo2019