Two-Day Virtual Writing Retreat

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June 2025, 10.00am - 5.00pm (BST)

The deadline for applications is Friday 25 April 2025, 12 noon. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications by Friday 2 May 2025.

Are you a doctoral researcher working on your thesis? Are you in the writing up phase? Have you found it tough to get started and stay motivated? Have you hit a block? Is academic writing blocking your productivity?

This is an online writing retreat. It offers structure, helping you clear your mind and set aside time for pure writing. Our aim is twofold:

• Short term: make significant progress with your thesis (or other academic writing)
• Long term: gain confidence, finding a constructive approach to move forward

After the retreat, we aim that you will have:

• words on the page
• insight into your own writing habits and methods
• tactics to get to the desk
• strategies to sharpen your focus
• techniques for planning ahead

We'll send out pre-retreat tasks to help you get the most out of the weekend. We’ll use warm-up exercises, group feedback and peer discussion, and coaching with the experienced facilitator. We'll set goals; then we’ll make those goals more realistic. We’ll certainly aim to make progress, and to offer a supportive environment.

Please see below for the full eligibility criteria before completing the application form.

Requirements

Please note, this is an online writing retreat and is hosted on Zoom. If you’re allocated a place, you’ll receive full joining instructions nearer the time with pre-course tasks.

Participants will need the following:

• Computer, laptop, or smartphone with a stable internet connection
• Sound (and headphones, if you're in shared space)
• Microphone (if you'd like an optional 1-2-1)

Who can attend? Eligibility criteria

The two-day virtual writing retreat is a free event provided by the Doctoral College and supported by your Faculty Director of Postgraduate Research.

You are eligible to apply if you are:

• A doctoral researcher at the University of Portsmouth.
• In the midst of writing. That is, you have enough data collected (in whatever form is relevant to your project and discipline) to be currently 'writing up'. The ultimate aim of thesis boot camp is to write draft material - whether thousands of a messy early draft, or a few more polished sections. It is not for writing and revising, rather than preparing presentations or grant applications etc. In other words, you should identify the particular chapter(s) of your thesis that you will work on as part of your writing retreat goal.
• Able to clearly identify how you would benefit from an intensive weekend of drafting a particular section of your thesis.
• Willing and able to attend most of the sessions, to complete preparatory tasks in the lead up to the event, and to commit to the ethos of dedicated writing required at the two-day writing retreat.
• Able to provide details of an academic referee to support your application (e.g. your supervisor or Deputy Director of Postgraduate Research).

How the event works

The event comprises:

• Prompts (sent in advance) to plan your weekend’s goals, asking you to write:

- a brief summary of your overall research
- a focused description of the section(s) you plan to work on

• Two days of writing time, bookended by brief Zoom introductions and discussions.
• Guidance and provocations on:

- planning your writing
- developing material
- improving focus
- boosting productivity

• Optional individual break-out sessions with the facilitator.
• Zoom group and/or break-out discussions at the end of sessions.