Tag Archives: Rachel Arendt

Who do you write like? and other writing bits

I write like
Cory Doctorow

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I found this ‘analyse my writing style’ game thanks to The Shebeen Club. (It’s very easy to play, just copy and  paste some of your writing into a submission box and hit submit. A minute or so later you get your answer. (Btw, I’m thrilled with my result.)

As for other ‘writery’ things, Dave at The Black Hole offers advice, links and practical information for people who want to become science writers,

Throughout the course of my own training, I have encountered a number of fellow trainees that have a passion for science writing and they live amongst a sea of those that do not. For those considering a career shift toward this passion, I think the first critical step is to figure out what kind of science writing you are interested in… loosely I’ve broken it up into three categories:

Popular

Feeding the brains of the public

Technical

Accurately explaining scientific protocols and/or information

Editorial

Consolidating or shifting a scientific field, making policy, designing programs, lobbying for change

While Dave is addressing science trainees, his advice is applicable to anyone who’s interested in science writing but without a science background, you will have different challenges.

I’ll make one addition to Dave’s list of organizations you might want to check out, the Society for Technical Communication. I’ve belonged to it for a number of years and they provide a lot of valuable information if you’re interested in the field.

Finally, there’s this interesting article at Fast Company by Rachel Arendt about Tin House and some new rules for submitting manuscripts to them,

A crafty new submissions policy from Tin House Books is reminding writers to be readers—and consumers.

The book press and quarterly literary magazine’s recent call for manuscripts welcomes unsolicited submissions but comes with a caveat: Each submission must include a receipt for a book purchased at a bookstore. As for those who can’t afford to buy books or get to a bookstore, Tin House asks for a haiku or under-100-word sentence explaining why. Writers who prefer their words in e-ink can send similar explanations for their turn away from bookstores and analog reading.

Arendt goes on the describe the publisher and the thinking behind this initiative.