The story behind the best science stories

September 26, 2018 11:18 AM

The Open Notebook is a website dedicated to the art of science writing. Although the ostensible audience is science writers, the site is also a treasure trove for readers who love science writing. It features interviews with authors of prominent pieces about their process in writing the piece, profiles of days in the life of science writers, discussions of the elements of science writing craft including annotated breakdowns of award-winning stories analyzing how they work, and more.

previously

posted by Cozybee (5 comments total)

Damn, that site is full of good stuff! I wish they had a podcast, or some other way to listen to these while I drive.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:27 PM on September 26, 2018

Thank you Cozybee, very excited to stick my eyes into some of this!
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:06 PM on September 26, 2018

Yeah I wanted to have the fpp include links to some of the best specific articles and it was so overwhelming choosing, when so much of it was so good, I just gave up and linked to the categories, hoping maybe people would link stuff in the comments or whatever. I want to go back now and link some stuff and it, once again, is sooo much good stuff I just get sucked into a reading vortex instead.
posted by Cozybee at 8:38 PM on September 26, 2018

I'm a science writer and I use The Open Notebook regularly. I even have some of their content stuck to the wall next to my desk as reference.
posted by easternblot at 2:22 AM on September 27, 2018

Ooh, I really like the Storygrams (the 'annotated breakdowns' link above). It's great to see what other writers think of the craft of a particular story and writer. The Wyoming story about suicide specifically had some great analysis--and I like that the helpline was clearly linked because yes, that is absolutely the responsible thing to do.
posted by librarylis at 10:48 AM on September 27, 2018