{"id":856,"date":"2020-05-26T12:46:03","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T11:46:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/?p=856"},"modified":"2020-05-26T12:51:58","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T11:51:58","slug":"clugg-in-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/clugg-in-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"CLUGG in Lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Compiled by Lauren Aspery <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite\nthe current situation, there is still plenty of exciting research going on in\nthe children\u2019s literature department here at Newcastle University. While\neveryone is adjusting to new ways of working, a few CLUGG members have shared\ntheir tips and tricks for managing research during lockdown.   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren Aspery – MLitt Student<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren is currently researching late\ntwentieth-century British children’s poetry. She is especially fascinated by processes\nof canonisation and the Signal <\/em>Poetry Award. Some of her favourite\nchildren’s writers include Michael Rosen, Patrice Lawrence and Julia Donaldson.\nWhen Lauren isn’t busy researching, she enjoys baking, organised fun and\nwriting poetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A selection of Lauren\u2019s favourite recipe books. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lauren’s Lockdown Advice: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Keep a realistic daily to-do\nlist. Never promise yourself a vague 1000 words that you’ll have to rush\nthrough or can’t achieve, but 200 words about something specific. As well as\nyour academic goals, include things like watering the plants, taking a walk or\norganising your bookshelf. Ticking off those little victories can really\nimprove your mood during these difficult times.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Megan Ayres \u2013 MA Student<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Megan is\ncurrently researching contemporary Young Adult literature with a focus on\nperformance theory and ideas of adolescent ‘voice’. Some of her favourite YA\nand children’s books are those from Patrick Ness, Neil Gaiman, and anything\nslightly spooky. When Megan isn’t researching, she enjoys sewing, gardening,\nand trying to stop her dog Rosie laying in the vegetable patch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Megan\u2019s\nLockdown Advice: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking from\nhome can be unsettling if it’s a far cry from your usual working environment\nand, like me, you don’t have a desk. Set up a space with everything you need\nand keep your work within that space. This means that at the end of the\nworkday, or during a break, you can move yourself away from any stress. I’ve set up my dining room table with a printer, the books I\nneed, my notes and stationery, and, of course, a cup of tea. I also make sure\nto tidy it during lunch and at the end of the day. Even though it’s\ntempting to lie in bed and do some reading for work, try not to do this as it’s\nproven to disrupt sleep patterns. Keeping a specific, tidy area should help\nkeep a firm boundary between work & life, even in these difficult\ncircumstances.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen King \u2013 Doctoral Candidate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is in her second\nyear of a PhD project on the work and archive of Beverley Naidoo, with a focus\non representations of displaced and activist children. In her free time she\nenjoys painting, cycling, climbing walls (although only in the metaphorical sense\nduring lockdown), and bothering the cat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen\u2019s Lockdown Advice:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFind what works for you\nand don\u2019t let comparison creep in. I\u2019ve found I write best first thing in the\nmorning, and then again in the late afternoon, so I use the middle of the day\nfor other things (reading\/editing\/snacking). The best way to be disciplined is\nto give your mind and body what they need  \u2013 I like to reward\nmyself with something nice after a chunk of work to keep me motivated, with a\nwalk, a phone conversation, a bath, etc.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie Lyttle \u2013 PhD Student<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie\nis a creative writing student who researches representations of bisexuality in\n21st century YA fantasy. She is also writing a YA fantasy novel. Her current\nfavourite children\u2019s book is The Velveteen Rabbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cavehill, Northern Ireland<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie\u2019s lockdown advice:<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn this creativity-sapping time of\nconstant anxiety, writers may feel that they should exclusively funnel what\ncreative energy they do have into their \u201cserious\u201d work. However, I\u2019ve found\nthat taking time out to work on other, low-stakes personal writing projects (in\nmy case, poetry) actually helps the words flow more easily when I go back to my\nPhD novel. Let yourself write \u201cfor fun\u201d, without judgement! It\u2019s not a waste of\ntime.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nadvice can be broadened out for researchers in any field \u2013 take time to write a\nnice note to a friend, or a thank-you email, or a diary entry. Give yourself\nspace to produce writing that doesn\u2019t have to be perfect.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucy Stone – Doctoral Candidate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucy\nis writing up her thesis, is writing up her thesis, a case study of the\njuvenilia children\u2019s author-illustrators Judith Kerr (1923 \u2013 2019) and Tomi Ungerer (1931 \u2013 2019)<\/a> [https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/far-out-isnt-far-enough-remembering-tomi-ungerer-1931-2019\/<\/a>] made\nin exile in the Nazi era. When not at her desk, Lucy is taking (online)\nballet classes, tending her sourdough starter, or baking cakes, should the\ntiger come to tea, although apparently he’s more after loo rolls\nthese days…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Some of Lucy’s sourdough goodies (fennel seed crackers and a chocolate pear cake). It’s quite remarkable how a bit of flour and water (and a few other ingredients) can yield such tasty writing snacks. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lucy’s\nLockdown Advice: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Everyone\nworks differently and needs to find a way of working that suits them. I’m\nfinding it helpful to take one day at a time. I work the best I can each day,\nbut even if I have a bad day, I stop at 5 pm or there about and take the\nevening off. It’s particularly important at the moment to maintain a balance\nand take care of yourself.” <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Compiled by Lauren Aspery Despite the current situation, there is still plenty of exciting research going on in the children\u2019s literature department here at Newcastle University. While everyone is adjusting to new ways of working, a few CLUGG members have shared their tips and tricks for managing research during lockdown.   Lauren Aspery – MLitt Student … Continue reading CLUGG in Lockdown<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7893,"featured_media":551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[286,24,281,282,258,284,283],"class_list":["post-856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-advice","tag-childrens-literature-unit","tag-lockdown","tag-quarantine","tag-research","tag-self-care","tag-working-from-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7893"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":863,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions\/863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/childrensliteratureinnewcastle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}