A new adventure: Freelancing
After two years at PNAS, I’ve left to become a freelance science writer/journalist. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and for a number of reasons this seemed like a good time to transition into freelancing. Unfortunately, unlike the videogame, there’s a distinct lack of flying through space while trading supplies and fighting off other […]
Dead Prose 2: How Zinsser Improves a Videogame review
The internet isn’t exactly known for providing a consistently high quality of writing. And I don’t think most people have particularly high literary expectations of video game reviews. So I was surprised to see a badly-written video game review elicit strong responses from readers, and prompt a discussion on the craft of writing that references […]
Enjoyment, Fear and Confidence – Zinsser’s take
photo © 2008 hojusaram | more info (via: Wylio) I was reading the closing chapters of Zinsser’s “On Writing Well”. Zinsser has an uncanny knack of pointing out things that I hadn’t thought of before, but that seem obvious once he says them. His chapter on “Enjoyment, Fear and Confidence” is full of good advice. […]
Nature News published my story about a new underwater robot
Underwater robot can follow marine organisms over record distances: Nature News. Nature News published my story today! Follow the link above to read it. I’m obviously excited to publish a story in Nature, it’s been a dream of mine. And the fact that it was my first pitch to them makes it feel even more […]
A few links about writing and fact-checking
Apart from reading a lot about science and technology, I’ve also been reading as much as I can about writing and journalism. I find it useful to try to incorporate things that I like about other people’s writing into my own. Here’s a few recent links that I came across: 1. A talk by William […]
The Immortal Life « Rebecca Skloot
The Immortal Life « Rebecca Skloot. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has been getting rave reviews so far, and looks fascinating. It’s the story of the woman whose cancer cells were immortalized to give the world HeLa cells (named after Henrietta Lacks). These cells are a mainstay of biological and medical research, so much […]
Signs that You Should Scrap that Piece of Writing & The Original of Laura
Ten Signs that You Should Scrap that Piece of Writing Caroline Hagood gives sage advice on when to scrap a piece of writing. Among the highlights: 1. If it needs explanation, apology, or perverse amounts of liquor to be enjoyed. 6. If it came to you in a dream, on acid, on a spiritual retreat, […]
The Story Behind the Story – The Atlantic (October 2009)
The Story Behind the Story – The Atlantic (October 2009) . Great article in the Atlantic on reporting in the “post-journalistic” age: “With journalists being laid off in droves, ideologues have stepped forward to provide the “reporting” that feeds the 24-hour news cycle. The collapse of journalism means that the quest for information has been […]