Creative freedom vs. client requirements, or: how a good briefing meeting saves freelance science writers from the rabbit hole

The internet is fun. You can spend hours clicking away, under the pretext of “doing research”. As a freelance writer, however, those hours usually don’t get paid – and for a good reason, any client would agree. How to balance your scientific (or rather, nerdy) mind when working on a writing project? Hint: A briefing meeting can do wonders.

The term “rabbit hole” was coined in 1938 by Lewis Carroll in his book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. Today, the strange and fantastical world Alice discovered is mainly found online, so that the term has evolved into a shorthand for the experience of getting deeply absorbed or lost in content – often leading far away from the original topic.

Hopping from link to link, from videos to social media posts, secretly steered by algorithms, we feel like research can be pretty entertaining –  until we look at the clock.

When excitement meets expertise: why writers need more than just enthusiasm

We’ve all been there. You have the first meeting with a client, and they are super excited about their new technology. That cool laboratory gadget you wished you had as a graduate student. Or a promising treatment for an awful disease. (My worst: Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare hereditary disease that affects small boys. No. Don’t Google it.)

As scientists-turned-writers, this trigger is enough to make our brains revert to nerdy mode. Which conformation of the target receptor protein can bind to the new drug? What are the next steps in the signalling cascade that downregulate an overexcited expression of protein XYZ? Which immune cell subpopulation can overcome the signals sent by a cancer cell in the tumor microenvironment, and how can we boost it to treat a cancer patient?

Wait. Take a deep breath. What was the task again?

The briefing meeting: your lifeline out of the rabbit hole

Here are some guidelines to find your way out of the rabbit hole.

• In your briefing meeting, ask the client how deep they would like to go into the topic. What is the goal of the copy you are going to write? A brief introduction to the subject for a general audience? A presentation for investors to understand the USP of a newly founded startup product? Or a deep dive on the latest developments for the expert scientific community?
• Make it clear to your client that you cannot be an expert in all fields, and that research is needed, especially to be on top of the most recent developments. Explain that the deeper you dive, the more time you will need.
• Always consider regulatory requirements and corporate guidelines. Your creativity may hit a wall sooner than you think, and for good reasons.
• Have a list of questions ready to guide you through the briefing meeting. Try ours or create your own.

Also, be strict with yourself.

• Set yourself boundaries. Track the time you spend on research, and set an alarm if necessary.
• AI won’t fix it. As tempting as it may be, relying solely on AI tools such as ChatGPT or Perplexity will not suffice. While they deliver an overview on the topic within seconds, careful fact-checking of information and linked articles is an absolute requirement that cannot be skipped. AI-generated hallucinations don’t yield accurate scientific content.

Nerdy is good – but so is structure: how clients can help writers

Being enthusiastic about a topic is great. It’s one reason why I love my work. And it helps you write copy that is not only scientifically accurate, but also engaging to your audience. They will feel that the author was a human being with a true heart for science. So keep that lovely, nerdy attitude of yours, but don’t get carried away.

And if you are reading this as a potential client, embrace this attitude. You’re in for good stories that will sell your innovation.

But give us guidance and borders, like you would to a little girl running after a rabbit. A clear, thorough briefing meeting works wonders, not only in Wonderland.

Image: Sincerely media on Unsplash