
Should freelancers write native advertising?
A couple of years ago, I posted my portfolio on Contently, an online site said to connect journalists with media outlets that had stories but lacked writers. Its focus soon expanded […] ...Keep Reading »

Start Writing ASAP
You pitch a story, get an assignment, sign a contract, and start reporting. When do you start writing? When I was first starting out, I would find sources, read papers, […] ...Keep Reading »

New routines
It’s 7:00 am on a crisp fall morning in upstate New York and I am walking the dog. I am also dressed — in real clothes. In a half hour, […] ...Keep Reading »

PhDs in the science writing ecosystem
If you know you want to write for a living, few people would advise the arduous journey of PhD work in science. Many SciLancers pursued the PhD with the goal of becoming professors or […] ...Keep Reading »

Further and other dated cultural references
“At times the campaign can look, sound, and smell more like Ken Kesey’s bus than a congressional race.” The sentence, written by Karl Taro Greenfeld in a recent issue of […] ...Keep Reading »

Why is storytelling important in science writing?
Last month, I participated in a “Writing Science for the Masses” roundtable discussion with the Center for American Literary Studies at Penn State. My co-panelists, Amy Teitel and A’ndrea Messer, […] ...Keep Reading »

My New Office Commute to Nowhere
How do you commute when there’s nowhere to go? How do you create some physical and psychic separation between home and work – and keep home a sanctuary — when […] ...Keep Reading »

Keeping irons in the fire
Today, I’m singing the praises of keeping lots of irons in the fire. Here’s why. One of the tricky things about freelancing – especially when you’re starting out – is […] ...Keep Reading »

Writing residencies: A room of one’s own
A few weeks ago, Michelle Nijhuis (bio) suggested a number of tongue-in-cheek writing retreats in response to the frenzy around the Amtrak writing residency. (A residency that, it turns out, […] ...Keep Reading »

Avoiding a Monstrous Email Fail
It was like telling spooky ghost stories around a virtual campfire. In SciLance, we recently swapped tales of email terror, sans the s’mores. One SciLancer frightened us with a story […] ...Keep Reading »