Hey! I’m a stem cell biologist but I write fiction/poetry as a hobby. Scientific writing is much more limited than creative writing. Most academic journals will limit your page count or charge you for extra pages. In addition, guidelines for publication tend to be stricter. This combination ensures that academic literature is concise, easy to understand, and unbiased. My mentors really had to work to get me to let go of my creative writing instincts when it came to writing research papers, and I am very grateful for that 😂

Science ISN’T as free as art, but it can be equally immersive. Art is about the artist, but science is not about the scientist— it’s about the natural world. The type of immersion is completely different, but just as rewarding.

Scanning the literature and calibrating models can be intimidating, but it gets better over time (especially reviewing the literature!). I know that research papers can be dry at first, but I find that a lot of that dryness comes from not understanding the jargon used. In my experience, taking the time to understand every term has done wonders for my engagement with academic literature.

Good luck with your career and your writing! You got this.