From the first two sentences of this reading, I was hooked on what was going to be said. To call science writing intimate is something I'd never ever imagined would happen. When the author says that science writing is intimate because you are inviting the reader into your mind, it struck a cord with me, but not on a science-y level--and that intrigued me. To me, creative writing has always been what I consider intimate, because I feel that not only do I put a piece of my mind into the writing, but I place a piece of my soul in it too. So right from the start this piece had me intrigued. Further on the first chapter goes, and I find myself referring back to our class discussion on Thursday. This chapter is more about what it takes to be a good writer, than what it takes to be a good science writer. The most beautiful part of the Hancock chapters that we read for today fall right in the first few pages, "If you are bored, the reader will be bored. If you are skating on thin ice, unsure of the information, readers become uneasy. If you are counting on a first draft to be good enough, the reader will flip on by" (pg 3). I found this to be the most vital piece of information that the author could have given to a potential science writer who is not actually invested in the science. For a person like me, who's interest lies in creative writing far more than in technical writing, this struck a cord. I may not always be able to only engage in creative writing, and I may have to dive into some technical work from time to time, but it will never be my sole focus. For someone like me, it is pertinent that I learn to write in such a way that I intrigue not only my readers, but myself. If I cannot get myself interested in whatever I am writing about, that will telegraph to the readers, and they won't be interested either. I will bore both of us to death, and nobody wants that. It is essential that as a person who is not wholly invested in the sciences that I can at least have an engaging conversation with the reader.
The key to a good piece of science writing: an engaging conversation. Well, I think we can all manage that!
Monday, September 1, 2014
Thursday, August 28, 2014
A little bit about me!
Hi everyone,
I am Megan! I'm not sure exactly what Doug is looking for in this introduction, so I'm just going to throw some fun facts about myself out to you all. I am a senior in credits this year, but I am just about a junior in the English program--I thought that I wanted to be a science major for the first two years of my college career (turns out I was wrong!) I am an intern at a publishing company based out of Bozeman, and I've spent most of my spare time over the past year editing novels for publication. It's been a pretty kick ass experience! I am in a sorority, and could not be happier. I really love football, and very avidly follow both the Bobcats and the Seahawks, honestly that's what I spend most of my weekends focused on. As for science writing... Well, I guess it's pretty cool. I think that science is wonderful, even if I am atrocious at it, and I think that writing on science and learning how to write more for that type of genre will be one of those skills that I will be happy to have at the end of this course. Although technical and academic-type writing is not my forte, or even my favorite thing, I am looking forward to what I will learn through this course.
So yeah, that's just a tidbit about me!
I also think it is probably pertinent that I say something about the texts that we are supposed to have read for Thursday, so I'll just throw a little something in here about that too. I would say that the part that struck me the most about the pieces we read this time was the fact that weren't mind-numbingly boring. At 1:35 a.m. I honestly thought I would be bored to death trying to get through these texts, but I was really impressed with the way that they engaged me. The authors of these pieces of science writing wrote in such a way that I felt like I was reading more of a story about stars, or atoms trapped in limestone rather than a piece of science writing. The authors also did a really great job of bringing the people into the piece and making it feel more accessible to me.
I am Megan! I'm not sure exactly what Doug is looking for in this introduction, so I'm just going to throw some fun facts about myself out to you all. I am a senior in credits this year, but I am just about a junior in the English program--I thought that I wanted to be a science major for the first two years of my college career (turns out I was wrong!) I am an intern at a publishing company based out of Bozeman, and I've spent most of my spare time over the past year editing novels for publication. It's been a pretty kick ass experience! I am in a sorority, and could not be happier. I really love football, and very avidly follow both the Bobcats and the Seahawks, honestly that's what I spend most of my weekends focused on. As for science writing... Well, I guess it's pretty cool. I think that science is wonderful, even if I am atrocious at it, and I think that writing on science and learning how to write more for that type of genre will be one of those skills that I will be happy to have at the end of this course. Although technical and academic-type writing is not my forte, or even my favorite thing, I am looking forward to what I will learn through this course.
So yeah, that's just a tidbit about me!
I also think it is probably pertinent that I say something about the texts that we are supposed to have read for Thursday, so I'll just throw a little something in here about that too. I would say that the part that struck me the most about the pieces we read this time was the fact that weren't mind-numbingly boring. At 1:35 a.m. I honestly thought I would be bored to death trying to get through these texts, but I was really impressed with the way that they engaged me. The authors of these pieces of science writing wrote in such a way that I felt like I was reading more of a story about stars, or atoms trapped in limestone rather than a piece of science writing. The authors also did a really great job of bringing the people into the piece and making it feel more accessible to me.
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