• Viruses- Part 1

  02 Feb 2020

  “Are viruses, in your opinion, alive?” The question hung in the air. The lab tech leaned back in her chair, chewed the end of her pen pensively, and then asked, “How do we mean ‘alive?’ Do we mean literally? Metaphorically?” The visitor squinted in confusion. “Literally, I suppose?” “Well,” The...

• How to Write a Scientist- Part 1

  11 Jan 2020

  “Dr. Doe, we need you to examine this patient! They are sick with a new virus, and you’re their only hope.” “What in the heck am I supposed to do for them? I’ve never touched a patient before.” “But you’re a doctor! It’s in your title!” “Yeah, but not that...

• Cloning, Part 3

  15 Dec 2019

  Now that we’ve covered what cloning is and why it should (or shouldn’t) be considered in your SciFi story, I think it would behoove us to look at two examples of how cloning has been used well…and not so well. A caveat to this blog post before we dive right...

• Cloning, Part 2

  27 Oct 2019

  The Villain raises their arms high. “Bow before me and my army of clones! Together, we shall rule the world-“ “Sorry, quick question?” “And all shall kneel- wait, are you raising your hand? Uh…sure. You in the front. What’s your question?” “Why clones?” “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I...

• Cloning, Part 1

  25 Sep 2019

  Cloning: a concept SciFi authors have use since time immemorial. Clones have become almost a staple of science fiction stories, functioning as either a plot twist or a worldbuilding aspect. And rightly so: clones challenge our concept of self. The idea that someone could share our DNA, our biological fingerprint...

• Why Science?

  26 Aug 2019

  Science is magic. Actually, no, it isn’t. Scratch that. Nope. Definitely not. But people tend to write science like it’s magic. You have a DNA sample? Fantastic! We’ll throw it into a lab and we’ll use it to track down the murderer. Need to hack into the FBI system? Give...