Craft of writing Archives - CASW Connector

Resource Database / Guide

Tip sheet: The story behind award-winning stories: A conversation with Usha Lee McFarling

CASW Connector

When it comes to finding story ideas, Usha Lee McFarling has a simple tip: “Have your curiosity hat on,” she says. McFarling, national science correspondent for STAT, was the featured guest at an October 9 Connector Chat. She has won numerous awards throughout her career, including being part of a team that won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in explanatory journalism. Most recently, McFarling was named the recipient of the 2024 Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting. Facilitating the conversation was Steve Padilla, writing coach and Column One editor at the Los Angeles Times.

Tip sheet: The story behind award-winning stories: A conversation with Usha Lee McFarling

Summary:

When it comes to finding story ideas, Usha Lee McFarling has a simple tip: “Have your curiosity hat on,” she says. McFarling, national science correspondent for STAT, was the featured guest at an October 9 Connector Chat. She has won numerous awards throughout her career, including being part of a team that won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in explanatory journalism. Most recently, McFarling was named the recipient of the 2024 Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting. Facilitating the conversation was Steve Padilla, writing coach and Column One editor at the Los Angeles Times.

Organization:

CASW Connector

Date:

October 23, 2024

Category:

For:

VISIT

Video

Writing about climate change for kids

The Highlights Foundation

In this virtual event from The Highlights Foundation, authors Pam Courtney, Andrea Loney, and Crystal Allen discussed writing about climate change for children. The conversation identifies ways that "children’s books can offer a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between social justice, racial equity, and caring for our planet."

Writing about climate change for kids

Summary:

In this virtual event from The Highlights Foundation, authors Pam Courtney, Andrea Loney, and Crystal Allen discussed writing about climate change for children. The conversation identifies ways that "children’s books can offer a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between social justice, racial equity, and caring for our planet."

Organization:

The Highlights Foundation

Date:

August 13, 2024

Category:

For:

VISIT

Resource Database / Guide

Science Reporting Quick Tips — The Open Notebook & SciLine

SciLine, The Open Notebook

"To cover science well, journalists have to enter the scientific world a bit themselves, by reading research papers, interviewing scientists, and evaluating evidence. Whatever your background, these are concrete skills that any journalist can sharpen. To pave the way, The Open Notebook and SciLine have teamed up to distill key science reporting skills into a series of quick-hit resources for journalists with deadlines to meet." The series includes tip sheets on finding expert scientific sources, finding and including diverse sources, making sense of scientific studies, and stats terms for covering science.

Science Reporting Quick Tips — The Open Notebook & SciLine

Summary:

"To cover science well, journalists have to enter the scientific world a bit themselves, by reading research papers, interviewing scientists, and evaluating evidence. Whatever your background, these are concrete skills that any journalist can sharpen. To pave the way, The Open Notebook and SciLine have teamed up to distill key science reporting skills into a series of quick-hit resources for journalists with deadlines to meet." The series includes tip sheets on finding expert scientific sources, finding and including diverse sources, making sense of scientific studies, and stats terms for covering science.

Organization:

SciLine, The Open Notebook

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For:

VISIT

Video

Talking shop: When debunking climate disinformation gets labeled “censorship”

Covering Climate Now

"Increasingly, disinformation peddlers are protecting their lies by accusing anyone who fact-checks or debunks climate disinformation of censorship, bias, or being anti–free speech and debate. How can journalists preempt such charges, or deal with them, as we continue to tackle climate disinformation on the beat? In this press briefing, co-sponsored by Covering Climate Now and Climate Action Against Disinformation, experts detailed strategies used by disinformers to discredit journalists and how you can protect your reporting and serve your audiences. Kendra Pierre-Louis of Bloomberg; Marco Silva of BBC News; and Wudan Yan, freelance journalist, fact-checker, and entrepreneur, joined moderator Amy Westervelt, executive editor of Drilled, for a one-hour conversation."

Talking shop: When debunking climate disinformation gets labeled “censorship”

Summary:

"Increasingly, disinformation peddlers are protecting their lies by accusing anyone who fact-checks or debunks climate disinformation of censorship, bias, or being anti–free speech and debate. How can journalists preempt such charges, or deal with them, as we continue to tackle climate disinformation on the beat? In this press briefing, co-sponsored by Covering Climate Now and Climate Action Against Disinformation, experts detailed strategies used by disinformers to discredit journalists and how you can protect your reporting and serve your audiences. Kendra Pierre-Louis of Bloomberg; Marco Silva of BBC News; and Wudan Yan, freelance journalist, fact-checker, and entrepreneur, joined moderator Amy Westervelt, executive editor of Drilled, for a one-hour conversation."

Organization:

Covering Climate Now

Date:

June 18, 2024

Category:

For:

VISIT

Video

Making obscure animals and ecosystems compelling main characters

SEJ

Pandas and forests are out. Moths and peatlands are in. During this session at the 2024 Society of Environmental Journalists annual meeting, a panel of wildlife writers discussed how to get readers deeply invested in stories about wildlife and ecosystems that are not traditionally charismatic. These could be obscure creatures and places that some readers have never heard of, or animals that many people consider icky pests.

Making obscure animals and ecosystems compelling main characters

Summary:

Pandas and forests are out. Moths and peatlands are in. During this session at the 2024 Society of Environmental Journalists annual meeting, a panel of wildlife writers discussed how to get readers deeply invested in stories about wildlife and ecosystems that are not traditionally charismatic. These could be obscure creatures and places that some readers have never heard of, or animals that many people consider icky pests.

Organization:

SEJ

Date:

April 4, 2024

Category:

For:

VISIT

Article

How ProPublica journalists reported on cancer-causing industrial air pollution

"ProPublica journalists Al Shaw and Lisa Song sifted through tons of data to deliver “Poison in the Air,” an award-winning reporting series in which they — alongside fellow reporters Lylla Younes, Ava Kofman, Maya Miller, and photographer Kathleen Flynn — identify hundreds of industrial air pollution cancer-risk hot spots across the U.S. using publicly available EPA data. They even corrected reporting errors by the agency. "In this 'How I Did It,' Shaw and Song discuss their reporting approach for this series and offer tips to fellow journalists interested in covering industrial cancer risk."

How ProPublica journalists reported on cancer-causing industrial air pollution

Summary:

"ProPublica journalists Al Shaw and Lisa Song sifted through tons of data to deliver “Poison in the Air,” an award-winning reporting series in which they — alongside fellow reporters Lylla Younes, Ava Kofman, Maya Miller, and photographer Kathleen Flynn — identify hundreds of industrial air pollution cancer-risk hot spots across the U.S. using publicly available EPA data. They even corrected reporting errors by the agency. "In this 'How I Did It,' Shaw and Song discuss their reporting approach for this series and offer tips to fellow journalists interested in covering industrial cancer risk."

Author:

Paul Gordon

Date:

May 3, 2024

Category:

For:

Journalists

VISIT

Article

Sharpening ideas: From topic to story

"As science writers, we learn about fascinating topics daily, and explaining that complexity is one of the joys of our work. But to sell the story to our editors, we need a good angle and often a compelling narrative approach. This can challenge even experienced writers."

Article

Is this a story? How to evaluate your ideas before you pitch

"When a journalist is on the prowl for a new story, every yarn spun by a friend, every press release, every vacation adventure, and every quirky local news item can seem like the beginning of a great story idea. But most glimmers of inspiration turn out to be just that—transient inklings. Only a few will be real gems. The most successful freelancers can quickly sift through their ideas and see whether an idea deserves to exist as a story, and what kind of story to pitch. This evaluation is usually an intuitive process, honed over years of practice. But learning the right questions to ask about your ideas can help accelerate the learning curve."

Article

Finding the science in any story

"Not all science writing has to be deeply academic or focused on dense concepts. Science writing can be crowd-pleasing, and shareable, and even sarcastic or funny. And it can belong in publications whose focus might seem far removed from science, such as magazines centered on fashion, business, food, public policy, sports, parenting … or just about anything else. For a freelancer, finding a scientific angle on a trending news topic can make a pitch pleasantly unexpected, and more likely to pique an editor’s interest."

Video

Exploring mathematics’ uncrowded space for journalists and writers

International Center for Journalists

This webinar, part of a series about mathematics reporting, discusses how journalists and writers can cover this topic. The session was led by Erica Klarreich, a mathematics writer whose work has been featured in many well-known publications and multiple editions of The Best Writing on Mathematics. Klarreich explained how to uncover captivating stories and opportunities for covering mathematics.

Exploring mathematics’ uncrowded space for journalists and writers

Summary:

This webinar, part of a series about mathematics reporting, discusses how journalists and writers can cover this topic. The session was led by Erica Klarreich, a mathematics writer whose work has been featured in many well-known publications and multiple editions of The Best Writing on Mathematics. Klarreich explained how to uncover captivating stories and opportunities for covering mathematics.

Organization:

International Center for Journalists

Date:

August 3, 2023

Category:

For:

VISIT

Annotated story

Storygram: B. “Toastie” Oaster’s “Pacific lamprey’s ancient agreement with tribes is the future of conservation”

The Open Notebook

"In October 2022, Indigenous affairs journalist B. “Toastie” Oaster wrote a High Country News feature about the fate of Pacific lamprey. This lushly written story explores how Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest are working to conserve a culturally important species in the face of dam construction, mismanagement, and climate change. Oaster combined research into the region’s Indigenous history and ecological knowledge with talented storytelling. The result? A beautifully crafted narrative feature about the past and future of Pacific lamprey, told through the lens of Indigenous ecological knowledge, that challenges readers to think about science research—and science journalism—more critically."

Resource Database / Guide

Mental health journalism online resources

The Carter Center

This list of links — assembled by the Carter Center, which administers fellowships for mental health journalism — includes training opportunities, mental health organizations, government resources, resources by disorder, publications, and more.

Video

Kavli Conversations on Science Communication at NYU

NYU, The Kavli Foundation

"What happens when leading journalists who cover science and eminent scientists who reach mass audiences get together to exchange ideas? What do their differing perspectives tell us about how science communication is changing and how we can do it better?" Science writers can participate in this ongoing event series either in-person in New York City or online, with videos from past events hosted on the NYU website. The series is sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program at NYU.

Kavli Conversations on Science Communication at NYU

Summary:

"What happens when leading journalists who cover science and eminent scientists who reach mass audiences get together to exchange ideas? What do their differing perspectives tell us about how science communication is changing and how we can do it better?" Science writers can participate in this ongoing event series either in-person in New York City or online, with videos from past events hosted on the NYU website. The series is sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program at NYU.

Organization:

NYU, The Kavli Foundation

Category:

For:

VISIT

Book

Ideas into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing

"In Ideas into Words, Elise Hancock, a professional writer and editor with thirty years of experience, provides both novice and seasoned science writers with the practical advice and canny insights they need to take their craft to the next level. Rich with real-life examples and anecdotes, this book covers the essentials of science writing: finding story ideas, learning the science, opening and shaping a piece, polishing drafts, overcoming blocks, and conducting interviews with scientists and other experts who may not be accustomed to making their ideas understandable to lay readers. Hancock's wisdom will prove useful to anyone pursuing nonfiction writing as a career. She devotes an entire chapter to habits and attitudes that writers should cultivate, another to structure, and a third to the art of revision."

Book

Science Blogging: The Essential Guide

"Here is the essential how-to guide for communicating scientific research and discoveries online, ideal for journalists, researchers, and public information officers looking to reach a wide lay audience. Drawing on the cumulative experience of 27 of the greatest minds in scientific communication, this invaluable handbook targets the specific questions and concerns of the scientific community, offering help in a wide range of digital areas, including blogging, creating podcasts, tweeting, and more. With step-by-step guidance and one-stop expertise, this is the book every scientist, science writer, and practitioner needs to approach the Wild West of the Web with knowledge and confidence."

Community

Authors of Nonfiction Books in Progress

The Authors of Nonfiction Books in Progress group, created by science journalist and author Kristin Hugo, hosts free, virtual monthly meetings during which participants share progress toward their goals and exchange advice about topics such as money, agents, publishers, ethics, resources, and more. This group is for people who are writing a nonfiction, non-memoir book or are seriously ready to start the process, with a topic in mind. Most participants are science writers.

Authors of Nonfiction Books in Progress

Summary:

The Authors of Nonfiction Books in Progress group, created by science journalist and author Kristin Hugo, hosts free, virtual monthly meetings during which participants share progress toward their goals and exchange advice about topics such as money, agents, publishers, ethics, resources, and more. This group is for people who are writing a nonfiction, non-memoir book or are seriously ready to start the process, with a topic in mind. Most participants are science writers.

Category:

For:

VISIT

Video

A critical reflection on media coverage of SARS-CoV-2’s origin

CASW, NASW

"Media coverage of SARS-CoV-2’s origins serves as a fascinating case study that has relevance for other scientific controversies. At the ScienceWriters2022 conference in Memphis, Tenn. in October 2022, CASW convened a panel to discuss how journalists have addressed the special challenges of this highly politicized story. Participants included three journalists who have covered the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic and a scholar who studies the interplay of biomedical science, politics, law, and public reason. Co-organized by Beijing-based independent science writer Jane Qiu and Jon Cohen, senior correspondent for Science, the panel included Katherine Eban, contributing editor for Vanity Fair, and Benjamin Hurlbut of Arizona State University. Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT, moderated the discussion. Recording of the session was possible through the generous support of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute."

Resource Database / Guide

Science writing resources (elsewhere) that we like

The Open Notebook

This resource page from The Open Notebook gathers resources that "center on science journalism craft, career development, and community. That includes university degree programs and courses in science writing, workshops and other training opportunities, sources of news in the science writing world, membership organizations, major awards and honors, and other learning and professional development resources."

Science writing resources (elsewhere) that we like

Summary:

This resource page from The Open Notebook gathers resources that "center on science journalism craft, career development, and community. That includes university degree programs and courses in science writing, workshops and other training opportunities, sources of news in the science writing world, membership organizations, major awards and honors, and other learning and professional development resources."

Organization:

The Open Notebook

Category:

For:

VISIT

Resource Database / Guide

Getting started in science journalism

The Open Notebook

"The Open Notebook has published hundreds of articles and other resources aimed at helping science journalists sharpen their skills—and helping newcomers get started. This page contains a subset of those resources, with a focus on what’s most relevant to people who are getting started in science journalism. Dig in!"

Resource Database / Guide

Writing op-eds – 500 Women Scientists

500 Women Scientists

A list of tips, advice, and ideas for writing science-focused opinion pieces, including a guide to pitching op-eds to publications. Assembled by 500 Women Scientists, the guide includes links to additional op-ed guides from other organizations.

Awards

PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

PEN America

"The PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award celebrates writing that exemplifies literary excellence on the subject of the physical or biological sciences and communicates complex scientific concepts to a lay audience. The winner receives a cash award of $10,000."

Organization

The Open Notebook

"The Open Notebook is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides tools and resources to help science, environmental, and health journalists at all experience levels sharpen their skills. We are guided by two principles: that high-quality science journalism is essential to society, and that everyone, including science journalists, learns best by practicing the craft as part of a supportive, diverse community of people who are all striving to master their skills."

The Open Notebook

Summary:

"The Open Notebook is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides tools and resources to help science, environmental, and health journalists at all experience levels sharpen their skills. We are guided by two principles: that high-quality science journalism is essential to society, and that everyone, including science journalists, learns best by practicing the craft as part of a supportive, diverse community of people who are all striving to master their skills."

Organization:

The Open Notebook

Category:

For:

VISIT

Annotated story

Storygram: Jane Qiu’s “Trouble in Tibet”

CASW, The Open Notebook

Jane Qiu is an independent science writer based in Beijing. She won a AAAS Kavli award in 2016 for this story about environmental issues in Tibet. This annotation was done by Mara Hvistendahl. The Storygram series, in which professional writers annotate award-winning stories to illuminate what makes a great science story great, was a joint project of The Open Notebook and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. It was supported by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Twitter thread

Writing and editing tips from Laura Helmuth

Laura Helmuth, now the editor in chief of Scientific American, shares some common mistakes and misuses she sees often in stories, and offers tips on how to fix them.

Writing and editing tips from Laura Helmuth

Summary:

Laura Helmuth, now the editor in chief of Scientific American, shares some common mistakes and misuses she sees often in stories, and offers tips on how to fix them.

Author:

Laura Helmuth

Date:

August 4, 2019

Category:

For:

VISIT

Annotated story

Storygram: Annie Waldman’s “How hospitals are failing Black mothers”

CASW, The Open Notebook

We all know—or need to know—that race intersects with every facet of American life, from the mundane to the momentous. Where you sleep at night, what you eat, where you send your kids to school, who you’re friends with: Whether you realize it or not, decades of racial segregation and inequitable social design have played an often-invisible hand in shaping the options available to you. Options are at the heart of Annie Waldman’s data-driven investigation into maternal harm at hospitals that disproportionately serve black mothers. When a black woman in America goes into labor, which hospital she chooses for her delivery—or where the ambulance takes her, sometimes against her wishes—can determine whether she and her baby will leave the hospital together and alive. This story, which won the National Academies Keck Award, is annotated by award-winning journalist Tasneem Raja, executive editor of The Tyler Loop. The Storygram series, in which professional writers annotate award-winning stories to illuminate what makes a great science story great, was a joint project of The Open Notebook and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. It was supported by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Find a resource

Library

Tip sheet: The story behind award-winning stories: A conversation with Usha Lee McFarling

Writing about climate change for kids

Science Reporting Quick Tips — The Open Notebook & SciLine

Talking shop: When debunking climate disinformation gets labeled “censorship”

Making obscure animals and ecosystems compelling main characters

How ProPublica journalists reported on cancer-causing industrial air pollution

Sharpening ideas: From topic to story

Is this a story? How to evaluate your ideas before you pitch

Finding the science in any story

Exploring mathematics’ uncrowded space for journalists and writers

Storygram: B. “Toastie” Oaster’s “Pacific lamprey’s ancient agreement with tribes is the future of conservation”

Mental health journalism online resources

Kavli Conversations on Science Communication at NYU

Ideas into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing

Science Blogging: The Essential Guide

Authors of Nonfiction Books in Progress

A critical reflection on media coverage of SARS-CoV-2’s origin

Science writing resources (elsewhere) that we like

Getting started in science journalism

Writing op-eds – 500 Women Scientists

PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

The Open Notebook

Storygram: Jane Qiu’s “Trouble in Tibet”

Writing and editing tips from Laura Helmuth

Storygram: Annie Waldman’s “How hospitals are failing Black mothers”