With a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and more than 12 years of experience as a science communicator, I'm an expert at helping scientists tell their science stories. If you're looking to become a more confident communicator of science, check out my newsletter!
Issue 10 - The Hero's Journey Series
Hey, Reader! Years ago, sitting in a packed auditorium, a YouTuber blew my mind with a simple observation: he and lots of other creators used the Hero's Journey as method for structuring their non-fiction videos. The same structure that works for Lord of the Rings and Star Wars is useful for telling other stories, too.
Before the presentation was even over, I'd scribbled out notes for how to adapt a client's scientific story into a series of Hero's Journeys that would carry colleagues through the arc of 5+ years of research. The Hero's Journey became my secret weapon.
But now, like that YouTuber, I'm lifting the curtain and sharing what I've learned. Over the next couple issues, I'll show you how I envision the Hero's Journey, what it looks like in non-fiction, and examples of the technique in science writing -- whether you want to focus on a character or a concept. I hope what I've learned will inspire you as much as it's inspired me over the years!
The Hero's Journey, Part 1: The Classic Version
You're probably familiar with the Hero's Journey from books and movies like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings. But it's worth taking a minute to examine how this story structure works in fiction before we talk about how to use it in scientific writing.
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The Hero's Journey, Part 2: In Non-Fiction
In non-fiction, the Hero's Journey is much less obvious, but it's still incredibly powerful. Here, I take a look at what each stage of the journey entails in non-fiction.
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From Around the Web
- Three-pass reading and concept mapping of scientific papers - I love seeing explanations of how other people read, annotate, and store information from journal articles. Here's one data scientist's method broken down.
- 7 Tips for Writing About Scientific Research - Although this is aimed at journalists, it's got useful advice for scientists as well. #1 is probably the most important thing for scientists to know about working alongside someone trained in journalism.
From the Archives
Here's the O.G. version of my Hero's Journey in Scicomm, as presented almost five years ago now.
| Watch It Here |
That's it for now! I'll see you again in two weeks with more scicomm tips, tricks, and inspiration. - Nicole
Nicole Sharp, Ph.D.
With a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and more than 12 years of experience as a science communicator, I'm an expert at helping scientists tell their science stories. If you're looking to become a more confident communicator of science, check out my newsletter!
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