What: "Science writing basics: Find your story and hone your pitch" with guest workshop facilitator Dr. Czerne Reid
When: Thursday, June 25 at 1:00 PM Pacific
Where: On Zoom. Link will be sent to those who have registered on this Google Form

Open to UC-affiliated students, faculty, and staff.

Pre-workshop preparation:

Participants will do initial research to identify a story idea and write a 500-word pitch intended for Science Says or another outlet. Please come prepared with a draft of your pitch, even if it's rough. See resources below for help in crafting your pitch.
The Workshop:

A small number of volunteers will present their pitches in front of the group, and get feedback from Dr. Reid and other attendees. The comments and suggestions will be for the benefit of the whole group, not just those who present their pitches.  Immediately afterward, participants will go in small groups into breakout rooms and listen to and offer peer review of each other’s pitches.

There will be a Q&A session at the end with Dr. Reid. Ask her about her journey from science to science writing, about the National Association of Science Writers (NASW) for which she co-chairs the Education Committee, career options in science writing, etc.

Resources:

Consult the resources below for help with finding stories, narrowing a topic down to a story idea, and dos-and-donts for writing a pitch:

The Open Notebook pitch database – Examples of successful pitches, and links to the published stories that resulted
Pitch, Publish, Prosper: Online Resources for The Science Writers’ Handbook, nasw.org
[ACCESS COMING SOON] Part 2, The Craft of Science Writing: Selections from The Open Notebook
[ACCESS COMING SOON] Chapter 2: Finding Ideas, and Chapter 3: Making the pitch; The Science Writers' Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, Publish, and Prosper in the Digital Age