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Let’s face it: science-types struggle with communication. Our training pathways focused more on memorizing information than on conveying ideas. And we are often so immersed in our niche fields that we forget what it was ever like to not have that specific knowledge.
It shows in our writing. We lean on jargon. We write above our readers’ heads. We take a straightforward topic and weave it into a jumbled mess in a misplaced (and ironic) attempt to demonstrate our mastery.
For help with writing, healthcare professionals should sometimes look outside of our own ranks. We can learn excellent writing lessons from expert communicators like journalists, novelists, and memoirists. Luckily, some of the all-time greats are willing to share their wisdom. Here are some of my favorite books on writing authored by those outside of the sciences.
Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer
by Roy Peter Clark
I discovered this book as a teenage newspaper reporter and it changed my writing forever. Roy Peter Clark is a former print journalist who became one of the best writing teachers alive today. He is particularly skilled at breaking down the basic mechanics of good writing and presenting them in accessible way. His voice is strong but comforting. His book, Writing Tools, gives individual writing lessons in bite-sized chapters complete with examples from across the spectrum of the writing world. Every writer can benefit from this book. My copy is worn, tattered, and loved.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King
Prolific horror writer Stephen King steps out of his comfort zone with On Writing. Part-memoir, part-writing advice, this book allowed King to detail the ups and downs of his writing career (and personal life), stopping along the way to doll out practical advice to writers of all skill levels. Few writers could break down drug addiction and sentence structure in the same book, but King never was much for traditional boundaries. It gets a little self-indulgent at times (hey, if you sold as many books and movie rights as King, maybe you would be, too), but the mix of storytelling, philosophy, and geeky writing talk kept me thoroughly entertained.
Bird by bird: some instructions on writing and life
by Anne Lamott
Is it a writing book or your down-to-earth friend talking you through a midlife crisis? In Bird by Bird, novelist and memoirist Anne Lamott takes a humorous and self-deprecating stab at life as a writer through practical lessons and imperfect coaching. The book is broken down into sections that lay out the steps (and missteps) of her writing process, though much of her “writing advice” serves as life lessons beyond the page. It won’t all translate to your medical journal article or dissertation chapter, but this is the book you want when your motivation is flagging and you need an extra push.
Zen in the Art of Writing
by Ray Bradbury
Imagine it’s your day off of work and you are sitting at your favorite coffee shop, staring at the blank screen of a word processor. Between sips of increasingly lukewarm coffee you are considering banging your head onto your laptop in a final attempt to rid yourself of writer’s block. But you notice a curious figure at a table in the corner. He is dressed like your grandfather and staring at you through thick, coke-bottle glasses. For a moment you contemplate calling the police before you realize—hells bells! That is celebrated American writer Ray Bradbury!
He gets up to leave and beckons you to follow him out the door. You leave your blank laptop and stale coffee behind and follow Bradbury on a meandering walk through the city while he launches into monologues and soliloquies filled with dated references, brazen metaphors, but most of all a deep passion for this thing he loves: writing. His words swirl around you like leaves carried in a gust of wind; you don’t even catch most of them, but you’re mesmerized by their dance. Walking on the sidewalk a few paces ahead of you, he rounds a corner and, when you do the same, he has vanished. His words still echo through your head and, as you walk back to your coffee shop, sounds and colors that you used to ignore register in your subconscious as the city hums with a new vibration.
That’s reading Zen in the Art of Writing.
How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times by Roy Peter Clark
Brevity is beautiful. And in the age of tweets, TikToks, and text messages, short writing is king. In How to Write Short, Roy Peter Clark teaches us how to trim our messages without neutering their potency. It’s a vital lesson for healthcare writers. After all, just because you wrote a 4,000-word manuscript doesn’t mean anyone has the patience to read it.
(By the way, this is the perfect book for those wanting to “start small.”)
Honorable Mentions:
A few more books that are worth a read…
The Sound on the Page by Ben Yagoda
Ben Yagoda’s book The Sound on the Page tackles the often-unexplored territory of writing style and voice.
The Elements of Story: Field Notes on Nonfiction Writing by Frances Flaherty
The New York Times editor teaches nonfiction storytelling, a valuable lesson for science writers tackling commentaries or any story with a human face.
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
If you somehow haven’t encountered the foundational writing book, it’s not too late to check it out.
Author’s note: I don’t get paid for recommending any of these books, I truly find them useful and want you to reap their many benefits.
For more help with your writing, check out the free guide below:
Thank you.