How Do You Science | Meet a Science Writer

Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.
  
It's not enough to just do science—you've got to get the science out so people can read all about it. That's where science writers come in.
 
In this episode, we meet Sara Zaske, a science writer at Washington State University. She also edits the Ask Dr. Universe column! 

As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu. Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Transcript

Dr. Universe

Hey, friends. I'm Dr. Universe. If you're anything like me, you've got lots of big questions about our world. 

Every week I answer a question sent in by a kid like you. I talk with my scientist friends here at Washington State University to find the answer. Then I send what I've written to Sara Zaske. She's another science writer at WSU. She edits my work to make it better. If my column makes sense, you can bet that thanks to Sara. 

I recently talked with Sara about her job as a science writer. I can't wait for you to hear all about it. Let's get started. 

Sara, I'm so excited to talk to you. So, you are a science writer. Can you tell me what that job means?

Sara Zaske

I'm a science writer for a university. So, that means that I get to talk to what I think are some of the best scientists in the world and learn about their research and put that in words that regular people can understand.

Dr. Universe

And you also edit the doctor universe column as well.

Sara Zaske

I get to preview every column. I love it.

Dr. Universe

So, I'm curious. How long have you been a science writer?

Sara Zaske

Well, technically, I've been writing as a journalist for about 10 or 15 years. So, I have done some science writing during most of those years. I think this is my first only science writing job, which I've been doing for about four years. And it's my dream job because all I do is science writing.

Dr. Universe

How did you get into science writing?

Sara Zaske

I come to it from a writing perspective. And that's generally how science writers come to it --either from the writing side or they are scientists first and then come to writing. So, I'm a writer who came to science, I guess. I have an English major with creative writing concentration and a double in art. I got a job in a bookstore, and I kind of fell into journalism. 

So, being thrown into that environment where you're asked to cover just a wide range of things, I came across a lot of science-related topics, especially at the time. I was working in the San Francisco Bay Area, and so there were a lot of conflicts over natural spaces there. So, there was a lot of science behind that. And I found those stories really interesting. 

And the other part of my story is a romantic one. I married a scientist, which meant for him that he had an in house copy editor and proofreader. So, I started reading a lot of science and just being around a lot of researchers and his colleagues and hearing them talk. I found really fascinating. 

And from there, I got a job at a university, writing for them. And 75% of the things I wrote there were science and engineering topics. And then I just kept following my interest from there. 

What I love about being a writer is telling stories and bringing information to people. So when I started writing science stories, I was like, "Wow, science has probably some of the best stories to tell. It fills that goal for me, as well, for bringing really important information to people. I prefer to tell those stories almost over any other.

Dr. Universe

What is it that you like about science stories?

Sara Zaske

Well, particularly in the world that I work, I get to tell things that are on the cutting edge. Like, often when I'm interviewing a faculty member, I'm one of the first people to know the thing that they've discovered or the thing that they're just about to publish. 

I love that. There's so much to be discovered and so much to be understood. So, it's like a constant process of learning and being amazed.

Dr. Universe

How many stories do you write -- like in a week or a month?

Sara Zaske

It varies. Right now, I'm juggling about six stories. So, it's a little on the busy side. Other times, I'll just be doing one or two a month while I edit other things. Roughly, I do about 40 a year. 

These are press releases. So, what I'm doing is taking the science from the scientist, translating that into common language, and then putting it out for the news media to read. And we also put it on our website for regular people to read as well.

Dr. Universe

I'm curious, because there's so many different fields of science, do you have a favorite one to cover?

Sara Zaske

I love animals. I love wildlife ecology. That's kind of my favorite thing. I know a lot of people do, too. It's really hard not to like a bear. And that is some of our most popular research when we put it out into the news media. If it has to do with pets, especially. Everybody likes to learn about dogs and cats -- like Dr. Universe. But they're also some of my favorite, too.

Dr. Universe

Yeah, I know. If I put something out about dogs, it's some of the stuff that people read the most, and it's so funny. Is there a particular story that you've told that is your very favorite?

Sara Zaske

That's hard. I was thinking you were going to ask me this, so I was kind of going back through. I love quirky stories as you bring up the bears again, but I just love doing those stories, and I got to visit the WSU bear center once. Being so close to bears is an amazing experience. We have some strange connection with them. 

As far as the favorite stories, I like space stories a lot, too, because I find those really fascinating. And sometimes they're just really out there. I don't mean to say that as a pun, but just like in terms of imagining what could happen. For instance, we had a researcher here who was using 3D printing with fake Mars dust -- like what is likely on Mars. And his whole idea is that someday we might go to Mars, and we might need to fix something that breaks, and we won't have any materials from home. So, you're going to have to use stuff on the planet of Mars. And for me, it was a little jaw dropping because I wouldn't think of that. But scientists every day are thinking so far ahead of what we might need to do. And they're starting to research it now. And it might sound crazy or sound out there, but that's how we actually get places like Mars -- by people who are thinking so far into the future.

Dr. Universe

Is there a kind of story that you like to write least?

Sara Zaske

We often want to promote stories that are what's called basic research, which means that they are at the very, very early stages. I call these sometimes I-found-a-protein story. So, researchers all the time are looking into our genetic codes and seeing how proteins are manufactured because it's how our body works. And they will find these proteins that they think might do something someday, and if they found a drug to manipulate them might also do something, and they're very excited about it. But it's hard to convey that to a regular audience, why this breakthrough is so important or why it should affect their lives -- because it probably won't for many, many years. But that's part of the scientific process. It's just a hard story to tell.

Dr. Universe

You mentioned going into the WSU Bear Center. Do you get to go into lots of different labs and different research centers?

Sara Zaske

I do a lot of interviews on the phone. But, yes, I absolutely jump at the chance whenever I can to actually see where the research is done. I mean, something like bears is very tangible. You see the big animals. Other labs, they're working with microscopic things that you can't see. So ,my going to the lab wouldn't make much difference. But whenever I can, I try to meet researchers in person and see where they work. 

Dr. Universe

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 

Sara Zaske

Pretty much. I was one of those six or seven year olds that was keeping journals. And I had a little bit of an ego when I was small. I even have a journal for my future biographers. I was going to write amazing stories. But, the actual act of writing is a lot different than perhaps I imagined it six or seven. There are a lot of stories to tell. And there are a lot of people out there telling them. I'm just really grateful to play a role that I find that I'm doing something really valuable in sharing information.

Dr. Universe

Do you use a process like writing a rough draft and doing all of that stuff?

Sara Zaske

Absolutely. So, I often work from interviews and the study itself. So, after an interview, I'll spend some time going through the transcript -- because I usually record -- and taking notes. And I don't do a very formal outline, but I do what I think of as just throwing out all the things that I think are important to include in a list. 

And then I start organizing that list. And as I'm doing that, it usually rises to the surface, what is the main point? What's the most important thing? And I put that at the top. From there, I'm trying to work most of the who, what, why, where, when important information to the very top of the story. So, that's generally how I get started.

Dr. Universe

Is there a dream story that you would love to write about?

Sara Zaske

Yeah, I would always love to write the story about the research breakthrough that's going to change the world -- to the cure cancer,or they found a fuel that is totally carbon neutral and is going to solve our climate change problems. Gosh, I would love to be part of that. Of course, those breakthroughs are usually more incremental. But, I'd love to be part of that excitement of something that's just really life changing.

Dr. Universe

One of the things that I love about being a science writer is that I don't have to specialize. I can learn about all kinds of things. Is there something like that for you, too, that is a huge perk of combining art with science like you do in your job?

Sara Zaske

I often tell people that I wouldn't like to work for a company, mainly because I would have to tell the same story over and over again. Like, if I worked for a printer cartridge company, I would not want to write about printer cartridges again and again. They would probably pay me more, but I get the benefit here of being able to cover a wide range of topics. 

WSU is a big university with a huge research endeavor. So, one day I'm writing about bears,  next day I'm writing about space or I'm writing about infectious diseases or a strange bug somebody found in the tropics. Even though we're here in Pullman, there's research all over the world. Yeah, the wide range is really interesting to me, and to have a job where you continually learn is such a privilege. I feel very lucky to be able to do that.

Dr. Universe

Yeah, I love that, too. Do you have any advice for a kid who might be listening who wants to have your job someday? Maybe not steal your job but the same job 

Sara Zaske

Oh, yes, of course. I think the first advice I give anybody who wants to write is to read -- and read a lot and read what you want to write. So, if you think you want to be a science writer, start reading some science writing. If you think about where you would want your stories to appear, read that magazine or newspaper or science website. If you have a specific area of science that you're very interested in, dig into that, find out everything you can about it. You don't necessarily have to come at it from the angle that I did, where you're more interested in the writing side. If you want to be a scientist, and you think you might want to write, go for being a scientist first and then figure out the writing along the way. 

I think this work is just so important -- and particularly what you do as well, in speaking to children -- because a lot of people don't understand science or they're afraid of it. They think it's too technical or too difficult to understand. And it's not. There's a lot of specialized knowledge that the scientists themselves have to have to be able to do the work. But to be able to understand it, I think everyone can understand it. 

And our job is to help make it a little more accessible. But they shouldn't be afraid to dig into it. It's fascinating stuff, and it belongs to all of us.

Dr. Universe

Oh, I love that so much. That's what I believe, too. Thank you so much for talking to me. 

No problem. I love talking to you. 

Dr. Universe

That's all for this episode, friends. Big thanks to Sara Zaske for giving us a window into science writing. 

As always, if you've got a question for me, you can submit it at askdruniverse.wsu.edu. That's A S K D R U N I V E R S E dot W S U dot E D U. 

Who knows where your questions will take us next.