Write Now, Right Now (WNRN) was founded in Fall 2016 by a group by faculty members seeking to support writing, research, creative work, and professional development among our faculty, and to create intellectual community across academic divisions and ranks at Wheaton College.
WNRN is a community that offers a space and regular times in which all Wheaton faculty and staff members are invited to co-write for as long or as short as they wish.
By “write,” we mean anything that allows one to engage with, and move forward on, research, creative work, and professional development. Participants can write, think, read, outline, calculate, code, draw, paint, etch, photograph, sketch, brainstorm, edit, copyedit, proof, research, dance, sew, sculpt, annotate, translate, etc. Whether virtually or in person, WNRN provides community, collegiality, accountability, a means of scheduling and committing to your work, coffee, tea, and more! It is a great way to make sure we give attention to our research and creative work when a million other obligations are pulling us away from it.
WNRN is based in Discovery Center 1347 (next to the Computer Museum and at the point where the Wallace Library Basement Stacks meets the Science Center). The room contains a tea and coffee bar, snacks, and a refrigerator, as well as ample desk space, two large computer monitors with docking stations, comfortable seating, writing supplies, and a small professional development library. A large computer screen, microphone, and camera allow virtual attendees to “enter” the space alongside those physically present. On the whiteboards, one can read what the faculty are working on and also see recently published work.
WNRN hosts at least twelve co-writing hours per week during the semester and nine hours weekly in the summer. All WNRN hours are both in-person and virtual, but hours change each semester. For the current hours, please write to [email protected] or stop by DC1347 to see the hours posted on the door.
The main objectives of WNRN are to: (1) build intellectual community between faculty at different stages of their careers and across all three academic divisions; (2) provide motivation and support, as faculty members share their stumbling blocks and their successes with one another; (3) share the scholarly pursuits of colleagues and crowd-source research- and career-related questions; and (4) help faculty build positive work habits, improve productivity, and achieve their goals.
In addition to daily co-writing, a wide variety of initiatives supporting faculty research and creative work have grown out of or come under the umbrella of WNRN. These include: the Faculty Flash Talks, the Faculty Success Summit, writing sprints, and more.
For more information, please check out the article “Faculty Success on a Shoestring” by Aubrey Westfall and Dana M. Polanichka published in Inside Higher Education or write to [email protected].