Writing-Communication – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Narrative Gym for Science Graduate Students & Postdocs

By Scott J. Pearson | June 25, 2026June 25, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Communication to the wider non-scientific world is a constant challenge to scientists. We rely on the public for funding, and we aim to contribute to their lives. Yet our communication sometimes can get into a rut by communicating to a small inner circle of scientific colleagues instead. So the authors suggest applying a simple framework to enhance the reader’s ability to communicate by focusing on the crux of effective communication. The authors focus on graduate…

Narrative is Everything: The ABT Framework & Narrative Evolution

By Scott J. Pearson | June 9, 2026June 9, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Randy Olson spent half of his career as a Harvard-PhD scientist and the other half as a Hollywood screenwriter. His love for theory combined with his love for narrative, and he built an “ABT Framework” to describe the fundamentals of narrative. ABT stands for “and… but… therefore…” It contends of an assertion AND perhaps another, BUT then a contradiction and conflict to that perspective. THEREFORE, there comes a resolution. In this book, he explores this…

Science Writing-Communication

Don’t Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style

By Scott J. Pearson | May 25, 2026May 25, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Family members of STEM types will relate deeply to this book. Their STEM-working family member can live in a different world that’s distinct from the world everyone else lives in, and they must learn to relate back to the “real world.” The problem, however, penetrates deeper than that. The public admires those in STEM fields for the braininess required for entry, but the public’s communication styles do not relate to theirs. Memes, movies, and social…

Writing-Communication

The Secrets of Story

By Scott J. Pearson | August 17, 2025August 17, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Matt Bird graduated with an MFA from an Ivy League university, but soon found that he knew a lot less about a writing career than he thought. After graduation, instead of just pleasing his teachers, he had to learn to work in the storytelling industry – sink or swim. To move forward, he has spent his life rigorously looking at successful stories as they actually are and what makes them work. His wisdom eventually brought…

Writing-Communication

The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface

By Scott J. Pearson | July 25, 2025July 25, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Writing fiction is a difficult art. Writing fiction that sells and impacts is even more difficult. Literary agent Donald Maass seeks to educate writers how to write meaningful fiction with meaningful characters. The key, he says, is to develop characters’ emotional layer so that they become more dynamic. Thus, readers identify with characters and want to spend time in your book. The key to developing characters is, as an author, to develop one’s own emotional…

Fiction-Stories Writing-Communication

The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human & How to Tell Them Better

By Scott J. Pearson | July 13, 2025July 13, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

When inventing plays, the ancient Greeks noticed stories often healed audiences of their psychological ills. Stories remain some of the first historic signs of civilizations the world over. Even today, weekends for many often consist of movies and/or fiction. What fascinates us so about them? Will Storr takes a gambit to explain this deeply human topic. He wants us to understand stories – and ourselves – better so that we can tell the next tale…

Writing-Communication

Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide

By Scott J. Pearson | June 18, 2025June 18, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

I’ve struggled with narrative writing since I became aware of the genre while working on my high school newspaper staff. I could handle news articles well enough, and opinion pieces came easily enough. But embedding the nuance of narrative was something I never mastered. Although I retain a personal interest in writing decades later, my career in technology and science veered in different directions. I picked this book up with hopes of getting better at…

Science Writing-Communication

Science v. Story: Narrative Strategies for Science Communicators

By Scott J. Pearson | April 6, 2025April 6, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Reality-based thinking isn’t popular in American society today. From policy and religion to social media and town halls, science is viewed with increasing suspicion. While it’s easy to blame entrenched economic and social interests, we in the scientific community must look at ourselves in the mirror, too. Too often, all our presentations are too abstract for the general public to understand. Too often, we hide behind science’s authority instead of admitting our limitations. In turn,…

Science Writing-Communication

Getting to the Heart of Science Communication: A Guide to Effective Engagement

By Scott J. Pearson | February 27, 2025February 27, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

The young field of science communication has developed to address the gap between academic science and local communities. Scientific knowledge has explained most natural process, but some mastered processes remain unexplained to individuals in the community. Instead of just relying on overcommitted professors, scientists with interests in communications have begun careers specifically to fill the gap. In this book, Faith Kearns describes this emerging field’s evolution, challenges, and speculative future. One common misconception contends that…

Society Writing-Communication

Outspoken: Why Women’s Voices Get Silenced & How to Set Them Free

By Scott J. Pearson | February 22, 2025February 22, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Unlike with men, women’s places in society have long been under debate. Many women face pressure to quiet their voices and opinions merely because of their gender. When that happens, though, society loses the individual contribution of women’s minds and spirits. Instead of growing forward together, we lose someone’s unique gifts. In this book, voice coach Veronica Rueckert attempts to liberate women’s voices from these oppressive patterns so that they can give back better. As…