“My most productive days since the year began.” (3rd year PhD , Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics)

“The writing groups played a crucial role in completing my thesis by helping me dedicate at least 6 hours of writing time a week to my research. This steadily kept me on track. Additionally, the community was very supportive and kind, which made the process less lonely.” (5th year PhD, Department of Psychology)

“It’s great! So nice to have regularity and a schedule.” (4th year PhD, Department of English)

“I love these, they are by far my most productive time of the week and I always come away feeling motivated to work even more.” (4th year PhD, Department of Geography & Planning)

“I love writing Tuesdays. Every time I have attended, I have gotten a lot done.” (6th year PhD, Department of Chemistry)

Protect your writing time! The Virtual Writing Camp is a forum for graduate students to schedule and structure their writing on a regular basis, and to get some of the advantages of working in a (virtual) social setting. The writing camp is designed for doctoral and master’s students actively working on writing their thesis, dissertation or article–or any other major writing task. That said, faculty and postdocs are also welcome to participate.

For three years, the camp ran from 9am-3pm on Tuesdays. Starting in 2024, the camp moved to a half-day model, twice a week, running from 9am-12pm. The camp currently (January 2026) meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, though this will change to Mondays and Wednesdays in May-June 2026.

Participants are free to attend when they wish, and can come and leave as necessary, but sustained attendance is encouraged.

To join, please complete this form or contact me directly at daniel[ dot]newman[at ]utoronto[ dot]ca.

VIRTUAL WRITING CAMP SCHEDULE (January 2024 – )

9:00—Check in (join meeting), informal discussions on writing topics etc

9:05—Goal setting for the morning and beginnign of Writing Window #1. Everyone is expected to post their goals in the chat; these won’t be read or discussed, but the very act of posting them helps with accountability. Once this is done, writing can begin.

10:35—Break

10:45—Writing Window # 2

12:00—Check out.