Writing a Community

One of the most significant issues that emerged through these interviews was that, although writing in the sciences is largely a collaborative process, it can be, at the same time, an isolated and often isolating experience. From the graduate students who often struggle alone with the writing process, to the senior scientists who make a switch to cross-disciplinary or public-focused writing mid-career, writing can be a lonely activity which is rarely explicitly discussed with colleagues. Some graduate students are lucky. Those who fare best tend to belong to a large research group, working on a project that is funded as part of a larger project, led by a senior scientist who has the language and the motivation to talk about writing. But most of the doctoral scientists I interviewed—and this was confirmed by most of the interviews from senior and emerging scientists speaking of their own experience of developing as writers—perceived writing as not explicitly discussed with seniors or colleagues. And this lack of discussion was ongoing, into the collaborative work of senior scientists: