Ideas into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing

by Elise Hancock, Robert Kanigel

Overview

"I am so proud to be Elise's student. Read this book and I suspect you will be too."—from the foreword by Robert Kanigel, author of The Man Who Knew Infinity

From the latest breakthroughs in medical research and information technologies to new discoveries about the diversity of life on earth, science is becoming both more specialized and more relevant. Consequently, the need for writers who can clarify these breakthroughs and discoveries for the general public has become acute.

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. Some of her advice is surprising (she cautions against slavish use of transitions, for example); all of it is hard-earned, astute, and wittily conveyed. This concise guide is essential reading for every writer attempting to explain the world of science to the rest of us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801873300
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	06/17/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.47(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Elise Hancock is a science writer and former editor of the Johns Hopkins Magazine.

Robert Kanigel is a professional science writer. His recent book, The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan, was a national bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist for biography in 1992.

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Robert Kanigel
Acknowledgments
1. A Matter of Attitude
2. Finding Stories
3. Finding Out: Research and the Interview
4. Writing: Getting Started and the Structure
5. Writing: The Nitty Gritty
6. Refining Your Draftt
7. When You're Feeling Stuck
Afterword
Index

What People are Saying About This

Joel Havemann

Elise Hancock's excitement is infectious. One puts her book down and feels drawn to a keyboard.

— Joel Havemann, editor, Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Time

From the Publisher

In Ideas into Words, Elise Hancock has managed to write a guide to science writing that is not only comprehensive—she answers every question I could have imagined asking and then some—but also wise, vivid, and an awful lot of fun. I wish I'd had something like this to help me when I was starting out.
—Michael D. Lemonick, author of Other Worlds: The Search for Life in the Universe, winner of the American Institute of Physics Writing Award

Elise Hancock's excitement is infectious. One puts her book down and feels drawn to a keyboard.
—Joel Havemann, editor, Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Time

Michael D. Lemonick

In Ideas into Words, Elise Hancock has managed to write a guide to science writing that is not only comprehensive—she answers every question I could have imagined asking and then some—but also wise, vivid, and an awful lot of fun. I wish I'd had something like this to help me when I was starting out.

— Michael D. Lemonick, author of Other Worlds: The Search for Life in the Universe, winner of the American Institute of Physics Writing Award

Editorial Reviews

This is a slim book, but it contains a wealth of information. The author, a veteran science writer, tells us pretty much everything we need to know about her demanding field . . . Smartly written and constructed, the book is absolutely essential to someone looking to enter this very tough, competitive field.
—Booklist

Rich with real-life examples and anecdotes, the book covers the essentials . . . Hancock urges writers to overcome any intimidation they may have in covering the sciences. Then, she helps them hone their skills to make stories clear and compelling.
—Science News

Ideas into Words enables the reader to BE a writer and to DO science writing.
—Margaret Reilly, PhD, AWIS Magazine

From the Publisher

Ideas into Words enables the reader to BE a writer and to DO science writing.

AWIS Magazine - Margaret Reilly

"This is a slim book, but it contains a wealth of information. The author, a veteran science writer, tells us pretty much everything we need to know about her demanding field... Smartly written and constructed, the book is absolutely essential to someone looking to enter this very tough, competitive field."

Booklist

Ideas into Words enables the reader to BE a writer and to DO science writing.

— Margaret Reilly, PhD

AWIS Magazine

This is a slim book, but it contains a wealth of information. The author, a veteran science writer, tells us pretty much everything we need to know about her demanding field . . . Smartly written and constructed, the book is absolutely essential to someone looking to enter this very tough, competitive field.

Booklist

Rich with real-life examples and anecdotes, the book covers the essentials . . . Hancock urges writers to overcome any intimidation they may have in covering the sciences. Then, she helps them hone their skills to make stories clear and compelling.

Science News