From The Journal of a Scientist

An opinion piece about writing from the perspective of a Scientist. I have always loved wiring, this piece I wrote back in 2011 during my Genetics studies.


A Scientist’s View on Writing

writing, prose, literature, science, scientist, researcher, rose curve, hexagon, tile, writer, Dr Tanzelle Oberholster, artverse, opinion piece

For a researcher, there are two forms of writing. The language of science; precise, concise and boring, and the other of creative; with embellishments, illustrations and fiction. Yet as avid writers of the one, rarely having the opportunity to indulge in the other, we forget one crucial point of writing: the command of language.

Not purely science nor exclusively fiction, but the ability to excite and entice both writer and reader. At school, they teach us how to write placing emphasis on grammar, punctuation and vocabulary. To command means to create power and meaning in each sentence and to persuade with every paragraph. This is why all writers should not only know how to write, but should also command the medium they choose.

And I discovered the most incredible thing. The Big Lie was a lie. A person could learn how to write because I was learning.

James Scott Bell, Plot and Structure


References

Plot and Structure: Techniques and exercises for crafting a plot that grips readers from start to finish. James Scott Bell. (2004). Writer’s Digest Books, Ohio

© Dr Tanzelle Oberholster


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