Fictional scientists are invariably portrayed as unscrupulous power seekers, out of touch with reality. At best they are caricatured as socially inept, white-coated misfits - think Jekyll, Frankenstein and Strangelove. All too often writers are forced to rely on these misguided stereotypes due to a lack of relevant knowledge and an understandable reluctance to seek help from experts who might disapprove of their ignorance. Now an exciting project called SciTalk aims to bridge the perceived gap between writers and scientists by bringing them face to face.
The SciTalk project was conceived by scientists Ann Lackie and Peter Normington with financial backing from Nesta (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts). Writing successful novels as Ann Lingard, Ann draws on her scientific background for her stories which, she explains, "have some science, or scientists as characters, in them - but the science is there as an incidental, subtle insights, the scientists are 'people'; the stories are people-led, not science-led." She sees the whole scientific community as a huge, untapped resource for writers. The project exists, "to counter the lack of good modern science, and the unrealistic depiction of scientists in novels and plays; and to show writers what a goldmine of exciting and inspiring topics there are in modern science." Ann is keen to stress that SciTalk aims to help writers put science into their fiction and is not about writing for the science fiction genre.
At the heart of SciTalk is a database of scientists who have volunteered to share their experiences and enthusiasm. Writers can search for an expert in a particular field and make arrangements to meet on a one-to-one basis. All contributing scientists are UK based so that writers can visit real laboratories and work places and can put their questions directly to the scientists. The project encourages diversity among its scientific volunteers with lab technicians and post-grad researchers as welcome as Royal Society Fellows. Ann Lackie says, "I want writers to see that 'scientists' are not just the elite, but that science is carried out by armies of foot-soldiers and graduate students too!" Scientists have been quick to endorse the scheme. Baroness Susan Greenfield, Director of the Royal Institution, says, "By giving scientists in literature a human face we will encourage young people to consider a career in science as well as helping the general public feel more comfortable with the high-technology age in which we live." SciTalk has already attracted several well-known scientists to the database but they are not easy to find. The website is deliberately arranged so that scientists can only be found through topic area. This encourages writers to think about ideas rather than concentrate on a famous name.
Since its launch in August 2005, many writers have benefited from the project. Playwrights, TV screenwriters, poets, novelists, short-story writers and even artists and choreographers have contacted the website. Several successful meetings have taken place including a week in an Oxford laboratory for one writer. A recent collaboration between novelist Liz Jensen and scientist Daniela Schmidt is to feature on Radio Four's Leading Edge programme and authors Philip Pullman and Maggie Gee are firm supporters of the project. Philip Pullman admits that his own writing has benefited from listening to experts in various fields and he is all for scientists and writers talking to each other.
For those writers who have taken advantage of SciTalk, the experience has been a positive one. As one participant put it, "SciTalk is a wonderful resource for writers. To have such easy access to expert minds and to be able to ask questions and receive feedback allows a writer to develop ideas and to gain specific details that no amount of reading could supply. The SciTalk site provides actual human beings that can be relied on to make scientific information accessible and accurate." For Anne Lackie the feedback is encouraging. However, she sees the scheme as a long-term affair and is planning several high profile events in the future, including a workshop at this year's Edinburgh Literary Festival. Her biggest hope is, "that the insights these writers gain will, through their novels, stories and plays, reach a wide readership and audience, and that people will see that scientists are ordinary people too - and that science encompasses a mind-blowingly exciting and unusual range of topics and ideas."
Louise Dop is a successful Freelance Writer and Technical Author.
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