I am beginning to work on revising one of my doctoral papers for a journal article (which will hopefully be my first, single author article), and am happy with the new text I just found to assist and help organize the process — Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success, by Wendy Laura Belcher. She writes in a friendly and encouraging style, while clearly remaining focused on the goal of publishing the article.
Right now, I am working my way through the first week, which is Designing Your Plan for Writing. She has a few handy templates for the process, including a Twelve-Week Calendar for Planning Article Writing Schedule and Weekly Calendar for Planning Article Writing Scheduling, both freely available on her website. While I often think just having the templates is enough, I know that remaining focused and having a guide / mentor to assist in the process is well worth the time and efforts. You may be surprised at all her useful suggestions in the 350-page workbook.
Today I will work on my 12 week schedule, so I can finally take one of my ideas and bring it to light . . .