How I write about science 2013: Penny Bailey

Penny Bailey

The 2013 Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize in association with the Guardian and the Observer is now open for entries.

This year, our blog to accompany the prize asks some top science writers about their craft. Today, Wellcome Trust writer Penny Bailey.

What’s a good science story?

Something that feels ‘alive’. The feeling of ‘aliveness’ comes from a cocktail of some or all of the following:

• the human aspects of the story (the character and personal journey of the protagonist(s) – the scientist perhaps, or the people whose lives will be affected by the science);
• any inherent elements of drama (e.g. seemingly insurmountable obstacles, competing needs, difficult choices, surprise/reversal, and a sense of urgency);
• the jaw-dropping ingenuity of the science itself; and
• the story’s newness (if it’s not a new story per se, then it should offer a new way into an old one).

What do you need to know to write well about science?

How to tell a good story. You obviously also have to understand the science and related issues you’re discussing.

How do you choose your opening line?

I tend to write that after the rest of the article is drafted (although I might have an idea of what kind of thing I want to say). Because the opener is so critical in terms of hooking the reader – and my best ideas are rarely the ones my mind reaches for automatically – I usually try out a few approaches before selecting the one that feels most compelling and relevant to what I’m saying in the story.

How do you get the best out of an interviewee?

It helps to have a clear idea of why I’m writing the article and what I want from the interviewee – and to explain that clearly to him or her before the interview begins. It also helps to have a list of questions. Some scientists are naturally great storytellers and you just have to listen but others – who may have great stories to tell – need a bit more prompting or directing.

How do you use metaphors and analogies in a story?

To give another perspective on the story, and to explain difficult concepts.

What do you leave out of your stories?

It obviously depends on the word count and brief. As a general rule of thumb I leave out things I can’t fit into the narrative without dislocating it and things that don’t really illuminate the story I’m telling, even if they are interesting in themselves.

How do you stay objective and balanced as a writer? Should you?

If I’m assessing complex a situation for which there are no easy answers (that I can see) I would aim to stay objective and balance different viewpoints and opinions. I might make a stab at the answer at the end, but would be clear it is a maybe. If I already have a view on the situation myself, however, I would focus on story elements and opinion supporting that view.

What’s the biggest potential pitfall when writing about science?

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the technical details of the science and forget the story elements that bring it to life.

Penny Bailey is a writer at the Wellcome Trust.

Read some Penny Bailey – we like Losing Face: the symbolism of facial mutilation and Disease, Immigration and Ethnicity in Post-Colonial England published on the Wellcome Trust Blog.

Find out more about the Science Writing Prize on the Wellcome Trust website – the closing date is 28 April 2013.