Interlude: SCSIR Database, Maximizing Impact, and Promotional Language in Grants

After I opened my ​Scientific Writing Simplified​ course to investigators who had their federal grants terminated, several writers and editors reached out to me to offer help with the program.

Although they can't exactly help with my course and community, I had an idea.

And I ran with it.

This morning, I launched the ​Science Communicators Supporting Impacted Researchers (SCSIR) Database​.

The SCSIR Database is a free resource to connect volunteer science communicators with researchers whose federal grants were terminated by the new US administration. This database houses information shared by science communicators who are willing to offer pro bono services to support impacted researchers and help them find alternative funding sources, shift research focuses, or transition career paths.

This database will be an evolving project. I welcome your feedback—just hit reply to let me know. And if there is a lot of interest, I already have plans for what to do next.

If you are a science communicator, I hope you'll consider adding your information to the database to support our struggling research community. And if you're a researcher, please share this resource with someone in your community who needs the extra support.

​Learn more about the SCSIR Database​

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

​How to Transform Your Writing to Maximize Your Impact​
In this FREE masterclass, you'll discover the top 3 challenges that get in the way of clear, compelling writing; the surprising truths about writing for experts in your field; the #1 thing holding you back from maximizing your impact; and a simple framework that will help you transform your writing.

👓 Reading

Use of Promotional Language in Grant Applications and Grant Success​
"This survey study revealed a correlation between the percentage of promotional language in grant proposals and the likelihood of funding success, with applications featuring a higher fraction of promotional words having increased odds of being funded. Our analysis also revealed that men tend to use more promotional language than women across various funding levels. This finding underscores the significant association of linguistic style alongside scientific merit in determining funding outcomes."

​Linking citation and retraction data reveals the demographics of scientific retractions among highly cited authors​
"Retractions were more common in the life sciences and rare or nonexistent in several other disciplines. In several developing countries, very high proportions of top-cited scientists had retractions (highest in Senegal (66.7%), Ecuador (28.6%), and Pakistan (27.8%) in career-long citation impact lists). Variability in retraction rates across fields and countries suggests differences in research practices, scrutiny, and ease of retraction."

🖥️ Watching

​The 60 seconds that make or break a conversation​
I'll admit that I think the title is a bit "clickbaity," but the video is worth the watch. In this TEDx talk, you'll discover a three-step technique to help you frame your next conversation with a TIP: topic, intention, and point.

💬 Quote

One of my students shared part of a poem with me recently (Thanks, Maria!). It really speaks to how I've been feeling lately, so I wanted to share it with you. You can find the full poem ​here​.

“Good timber does not grow with ease.
The stronger wind, the tougher trees.
The further sky, the greater length.
The more the storm, the more the strength.”

–Douglass Malloch

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Sick of It, Strategic Thinking, and Feedback Framework

Have you ever thought that you're sick of working on a particular project? That you've given everything you have to give to something and feel like you just can't see straight anymore?

That feeling might be a good thing.

Sometimes, being "sick of it" is a symptom that shows how hard you've worked on something and how much you care about it.

So you may not actually be sick of it. You might just care a lot about getting it right. And that's a big part of making your work the best it can be.

So if you're feeling sick of working on a project—whether it's a manuscript, grant proposal, presentation, or something else exciting—congratulations! You just might be on the verge of something extraordinary.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

🎉 Featured

​The Future of Editing – Three Experts Share Insights at AMWA 2024​
I was thrilled to discover that I was featured in an article about a panel discussion I joined at the AMWA conference last year. During the session, we talked about mentoring scientific and medical communicators, encouraging use of ​inclusive language​, navigating cultural differences among diverse clients and colleagues, and adopting helpful technology tools to make your work faster and easier.

💻 From My Desk

​Passive Voice Primer​ – Now Available for Free!
Do you often debate whether to use passive or active voice in your writing? Have reviewers or colleagues advised you to revise ​passive voice​ in your manuscript, grant proposal, or other document? The Passive Voice Primer mini-course will give you the skills, strategy, and resources you need to confidently use passive voice to strengthen your writing and maximize the impact of your work.

👓 Reading

The question every academic writer should be asking themselves​
"Most of us are so involved in our text that we forget to pay attention to the other player in this game: the reader. We find it hard to stop and think about where our reader is, what our reader is thinking of, and what our reader needs. Instead, we focus on ourselves: 'What do I want to say here?' and 'What do I find important?'...There is one basic way to improve your writing skills: shift your perspective."

🖥️ Watching

Simon Sinek on How to Improve Strategic Thinking​
In this video, author and public speaker Simon Sinek shares how strategic thinking can be improved by using simple, direct language that people understand. "When the language is clear, when the language is specific, when the language is simple, it's easy."

🧰 Tools

​I Like | I Wish | I Wonder​
This Miro template is a great ​framework​ to help you ensure you give great feedback that covers three areas: I like (what was done well), I wish (what could be improved), and I wonder (what new questions arise).

💬 Quote

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Transformation, Terminated Grants, and Risks to PubMed

I recently read an investigator's termination letter from the NIH. It broke my heart, not only for the research team but also for the study participants. It's devastating...and just beginning.

Last week, I mentioned that I'm giving a lot of thought to how I can help in the current funding climate. I want to help the principal investigators (PIs) who have had their grants terminated. So, I'm starting a little program to help them strengthen their odds of receiving a new award from the NIH or other organization.

I am sponsoring 20 PIs who have had their federal grants terminated to join our Scientific Writing Simplified course and the Redwood Ink Academy at no charge (no payment information required). I hope to expand this program to more PIs, and even co-investigators and other research team members, as our resources and capacity allow.

You can ​find more information and the application on our website​.

I know that this program doesn’t change what’s happening or have a hugely broad impact. But it’s at least a small contribution that I can make to help in this situation. I know that every contribution, no matter the size, can help.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

Passive Voice Primer​
I'm excited to share that my Passive Voice Primer course is now available for free! This course will guide you in overcoming one of the biggest challenges in scientific and medical writing—the simple way.

👓 Reading

​Writing as Transformation​
"Writing became almost immediately the form of communication that seemed to me most true and least fraught. Important conversations are routinely remembered differently. Of speech, an impression remains, which memory amplifies and distorts. No two people hearing the same remarks are likely to have identical memories of what was said. Certainly, the exact words will not be remembered. Whereas the written word can be remembered only exactly; if a written line is not repeated exactly, word for word, it is not being remembered, it is being paraphrased. The existing text will confirm this. In that text, words do not mutate or switch places. Meaning can be disputed, but the actual words survive argument and mutilation."

​Generative AI exists because of the transformer​
Do you wonder how Large Language Models (LLMs) work? This interactive and beautifully crafted guide shows what's really happening behind the scenes.

🎧 Listening

PubMed Uncertainty: Smart Alternatives for CME Professionals​
Many of us depend on PubMed for evidence-based research. But with looming funding changes, this go-to resource is at risk. In this episode of Write Medicine, Alex Howson shares what’s happening with PubMed and why it matters, alternative tools for researching the medical literature, and actionable strategies to future-proof your literature search and avoid research roadblocks.

💬 Quote

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Grant Opportunities, Recycled Images, and the Power of Names

If you've been around here for a while, you know that I'm particular about word choice. I believe that the words we choose have the power to affect how people think, act, and feel.

I believe that names can have the same power.

That's why I chose my company name, Redwood Ink. If you're interested in that story, check out our About page (scroll to the bottom).

When I chose the name of our learning community, The Grove, I took the same approach. I chose the name because in a grove of redwood trees, the trees gain strength by intertwining their shallow roots to withstand strong winds, floods, and tumultuous storms.

In our community, we know that as individuals, we can overcome challenges and continue to grow. But together, we can support each other to strengthen our writing and the impact we make in the world.

As much as I love how "The Grove" represents the values of our learning community, I'm excited to announce that we've changed the name to Redwood Ink Academy! 🎉

The concept of "The Grove" will still represent the driving philosophy of our community, but the new name better aligns with our future vision. And we are so excited for what's to come!

The Redwood Ink Academy is the new home for all our courses: Scientific Writing Simplified, Passive Voice Primer, and Inclusive Language Fundamentals. Right now, you can only get access to the full community through Scientific Writing Simplified.

More to come soon.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

Alternative Grant Funding Opportunities​
The current situation with federal funding is challenging and unpredictable, and I’m giving a lot of thought to how I can help. One thing I can do is share resources to find alternative funding sources for your research. In a recent LinkedIn post, I shared four great repositories worth exploring. If you know about other great resources, hit reply and let me know.

📆 Upcoming in The Redwood Ink Academy

AI Tools and Strategies for Research and Writing – March 4, 2025 @ 12 pm PT
Do you struggle to know what AI tools to use and how to use them for your work? Join us for an interactive webinar with AI whisperer Núria Negrão, PhDto discover the best AI tools and strategies to help with your research and writing. You must be enrolled in Scientific Writing Simplified to join.

👓 Reading

Language errors in pain medicine: An umbrella review​
"All articles contained at least one error in language, there were no differences in the proportions of errors in language in review articles between years of publication, and various predictors were mostly not associated with a higher or lower number of errors in language counts in articles. Our findings reveal the need for heightened awareness among researchers, clinicians, journals and editorial boards regarding the prevalence and impact of these errors."

​Journal Editors Look to Artificial Intelligence to Spot Recycled Images Before Publication​
"As reports of manipulated western blots, microscopy, and other images in scientific journals mount up, editors and publishers are seeking ways to spot them before they end up in print. Commercial artificial intelligence programs that can compare millions of published images to find copies and corruptions may be one solution, editors said."

🖥️ Watching

Did you know these Google secrets?​
In this Instagram post, @setupspawn shares three fun tools to explore. Give yourself a break to play Katamari, create new emojis, and add a rainbow to your spreadsheet.

💭 Thoughts

Choosing words for writing is like choosing spices for cooking.

Salt and sugar may look similar, but they have different flavors that affect how people experience the meal.

Words may seem like synonyms, but they have different meanings that affect how people experience the writing.

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Prioritizing Tasks, Research Assessments, and Conflicts of Interest

Have you ever thought, "If I could just get caught up, then I could do [X thing]."

That thought crossed my mind earlier this week. And then I remembered something I realized while reading Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. We never really "catch up" and accomplish everything on our to-do list. We will forever be adding things to that list.

So I realized that I need to stop thinking about completing all the tasks on my to-do list and instead think about prioritizing the tasks on my to-do list. And I need to accept that the prioritizing process will be a cycle that gets continually repeated over time.

Suddenly, I felt less overwhelmed and more focused on the actions I could take.

So if you're struggling to "catch up" on your to-do list, take a moment to review your list and prioritize the tasks. You might even try The Time Management Matrix described by Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I've found that process helpful for ensuring I prioritize the right tasks.

What is your process for prioritizing tasks? Hit reply and let me know.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

📆 Upcoming in The Grove

AI Tools and Strategies for Research and Writing – Núria Negrão, PhD
Do you struggle to know what AI tools to use and how to use them for your work? Join us for an interactive webinar with an AI whisperer to discover the best AI tools and strategies to help with your research and writing. You must be enrolled in Scientific Writing Simplified to join.

👓 Reading

Engagement Evolution: How Metrics and Enhanced Publication Content Shape Readership​
"...publication professionals should advocate for a shift towards more innovative, transparent and robust metrics for research assessment, echoing sentiments from the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). The core objective of DORA is to advance a more comprehensive and equitable system for research assessment, shifting emphasis away from traditional metrics like journal impact factors and evaluating research on its merit and significance rather than relying on the journal in which the work is published."

​Are conflicts of interest reported transparently in healthcare guidelines?​
"Clear and complete reporting of COIs [conflicts of interest] and funding is crucial for credibility and is monitored as a key open science indicator. Yet existing checklists, such as Reporting Items for practice Guidelines in HealThcare (RIGHT), often lack detail on how to report COIs and funding. Xun et al. aimed to address this, building on RIGHT to develop a COI- and funding-specific extension. RIGHT-COI&F can be used both while developing healthcare guidelines and to assess completeness of COI and funding reporting."

🖥️ Watching

​Why you’ll never “get on top of everything”​
"If you set out on some big project of scheduling your time very, very, very strictly, not only will you probably fail and get very stressed, but even if you succeed, you'll fail in a way because there'll be some lack of spontaneity to that path, a sense of having to carry out these instructions that you've given yourself that is at odds with what we really value from being alive. And so that's why we need a way of understanding and thinking about work and productivity that does not treat getting on top of everything as the goal, explains Burkeman. Here, he lays out four guiding principles to lead a better, more fulfilling life."

🧰 Tools

Motifolio Biomedical PowerPoint Toolkit​
A colleague recently recommended this toolkit of images for creating slides for PowerPoint presentations. You can access a sample subset of slides for free to help you decide if you want to purchase a field-specific or comprehensive toolkit.

💬 Quote

“Don’t let the things that matter least, get in the way of the things that matter most.” – Roy T. Bennett

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Breaks, Tactics, and Taking Care of Readers

Over the past few weeks, we've seen a lot of unpredictability and felt some big feelings about everything that is happening with research funding.

I want you to stay informed about everything. However, I've made the decision to stick with the intention of the Interlude to give you a break in your day, which also means a break from the firehose we are experiencing. So although I will (mostly) omit information about the state of things moving forward, please seek trusted sources to stay up to date.

And know that I am here to support you in any way I can.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

10 Tactics to Help You Stop Overlooking How You Can Improve Your Writing​
Editing your own writing can be challenging. You might think that you can just edit your own work. But you are so close to the work that you can easily overlook mistakes and other problems with the writing. I encourage you to collaborate with a professional editor, but you can also try these 10 tactics to avoid overlooking how you can improve your writing.

👓 Reading

Leonard Cassuto on Taking Care of Your Reader​
"If you know that your readers will stay with you no matter what, you don’t have to worry too much about how you treat them. Instead of working to care for the reader, academic writers are taught by their earliest experience that readers are unconditionally invested. They require no consideration because they’re already on the hook. That unfortunate lesson invites all kinds of bad writing..."

​Three books to sum up where we’re at with “AI” tools for writing​
"Fortunately, we’re just far enough into the age of LLMs that books are beginning to be published providing the kind of treatment you’d hope for – broad enough to cover the idea of LLMs in general, and deep enough to let you consider well-reasoned cases both for and against writers using LLMs." Heard's book recommendations: Generative AI for Academics, AI Snake Oil, and More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.

...Oh, and if you're interested in getting hands-on training with AI tools for research and writing, join us in Scientific Writing Simplified for an interactive session with AI whisperer Núria Negrão on March 4. You must be enrolled to join.

🧰 Tools

Simplelists​
I recently learned about this great tool for managing an email distribution list. With Simplelists, you can "optimise group email communications for small or large groups with email hosting that is user-friendly, advert-free, has robust virus protection, quality email deliverability, plus more."

💭 Thoughts

Writing without thinking about your readers is like hosting a dinner party without thinking about your guests.

Just as you wouldn’t want to cook steak for vegetarians, you don’t want to write content that is difficult for readers to digest.

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Expertise, Evidence Bank, and Responsible Use of AI

I recently received a newsletter that included detailed recommendations that I would expect from an expert. But the author is still quite new to the field. I immediately suspected that they used AI to craft the newsletter.

And I began to wonder: in a world with AI, how can we distinguish an expert from an imposter? And is knowledge alone enough to establish yourself as an expert?

I've been thinking about these questions a lot this past week. I don't have clear answers yet. But I do think experts need a particularly important quality: lived experience.

I think that to establish yourself as an expert, you need to do more than regurgitate (or generate) knowledge. You need lived experience that gives you a unique perspective and adds an aspect of humanity that AI cannot generate.

I'm still mulling this over, and I'd love to know your thoughts. In a world with AI, how do you think we can distinguish an expert from an imposter?

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

📆 Upcoming

Scientific Writing Simplified Accelerator​ – February 14, 2025
Next week, we kick off the annual accelerator program for the Scientific Writing Simplified course. The program will help you stay on track to complete the course with weekly reminders, check-ins, and live calls with me and your fellow classmates. ​Enroll by February 13 to join the program​.

👓 Reading

A thorough examination of ChatGPT-3.5 potential applications in medical writing: A preliminary study​
“This evaluation highlights both the benefits and limitations of using ChatGPT-3.5, emphasizing its ability to enhance vocabulary, prevent plagiarism, generate hypotheses, suggest ​keywords​, summarize articles, simplify medical ​jargon​, and transform informal text into an academic format. However, AI tools should not replace human expertise. It is crucial for medical professionals to ensure thorough human review and validation to maintain the accuracy and relevance of the content in case they eventually use AI as a supplementary resource in medical writing.”

​How is ChatGPT acknowledged in academic publications?​
“Around 80% of ​acknowledgments​ were related to text editing and proofreading, while only 5.3% mentioned ChatGPT for non-editorial research support, such as data analysis or programming. A small portion (3.5%) of researchers acknowledged ChatGPT for drafting sections of manuscripts. About two-thirds of corresponding authors who acknowledged ChatGPT were from non-English-speaking countries, and 75% of the publications with ChatGPT acknowledgments were published within January to August 2024.“

​National Academies President on How to Use Generative AI Responsibly in Scientific Research​
“The authors cautioned that although AI will speed scientific discoveries, its tools and processes—particularly generative AI—challenge some of the ‘core norms and values in the conduct of science, including accountability, transparency, replicability, and human responsibility.’ McNutt and her coauthors also called on the scientific community to build oversight bodies that can respond to the use of AI in scientific research.”

🧰 Tools

​CME Evidence Bank​
Recent federal actions have led to barriers in accessing essential public health data. With uncertainty in how these barriers may change, Alex Howson of ​Write Medicine​ is curating a list of alternative evidence sources from the World Health Organization, state and local health departments, medical associations, university research centers, and more. You can ​access, edit, and share the spreadsheet​ with your colleagues and peers.

💬 Quote

“An expert is a person who has found out by his own painful experience all the mistakes that one can make in a very narrow field." – Niels Bohr

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Choices, Errors, and Word Origins

I had to make a difficult choice this week.

After spending several months revamping my ​Scientific Writing Simplified​ course, I was excited and geared up to open the course for enrollment this week.

And then chaos struck the scientific community.

I was torn. Was now the right time to open enrollment?

I didn't want to be disrespectful. I didn't want to add to the stress of the chaos. And I didn't want to cause upset by seeming inconsiderate during challenging times. I started to think that I needed to wait until the dust settled.

But as I considered all aspects of the situation, I reminded myself of one of my core values: to be of service.

I want to help.

And in the unknowns that lie ahead, I anticipate that funding opportunities will change, competition for grants will increase, and the pressure for publications will rise. And I know that one of the best ways that I can help during these times is to continue to arm you with the principles, resources, and support you need to write well.

So I chose to open enrollment.

The choice was not easy. And I felt anxiety after opening the doors. But under those feelings is a deeper knowing that it was the best thing I can do to support you.

So during these unpredictable times, know that I'm here cheering you on and offering you support as we forge ahead on this journey together.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

📆 Upcoming in The Grove

Using PowerPoint to Create Graphical Abstracts and Infographics – Kelly Schrank, MA, ELS
Many journals are requesting graphical or visual abstracts to pair with manuscripts, and other agencies may request summary infographics to complement your publications. Join us on February 4 to move past providing words in a Word document to presenting the content in a more graphical format using PowerPoint. You must be enrolled in Scientific Writing Simplified to join.

👓 Reading

Casual inference and pubic health – What a rise in common spelling errors says about the state of research culture​
"...some academics may be cutting corners to produce papers quickly and remain competitive. Checks of robustness, such as running sensitivity analyses to verify results or waiting for a colleague’s feedback on a draft paper, may be perceived as too time-consuming to warrant delaying publication. This kind of corner cutting also means that quantity is being prioritised over quality, and the literature is becoming clogged with poor quality papers. . .The rise in spelling errors highlights the tension between working slowly and carefully versus publishing quickly.”

​Uncovering scientific ERRORs: can financial rewards work?​
“…the Estimating the Reliability & Robustness of Research (ERROR) project offers cash rewards for reviewers identifying incorrect or misinterpreted data, code, statistical analyses, or citations in scientific papers. . .The ERROR team hopes to convince research funders to allocate money for error detection – ultimately saving them from investing in flawed research.“🎧 Listening

🖥️ Watching

​Linguist Answers Word Origin Questions​
"Linguist Gareth Roberts joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about the etymologies of English words. How did the first languages first form? Was there once a single common language that all the others evolved from? When were swear words invented? Have words like "dude" and "bro" become gender neutral? Who came up with the word poop? Is "unalived" a real word now?"

🎓 Training

​AI bootcamp for medical writers​ – Starts February 17, 2025
Are you feeling overwhelmed by AI tools or worried about privacy? In this bootcamp, AI whisperer Núria Negrão will teach you actionable strategies to use AI safely and effectively to cut your research time in half and produce higher-quality work. I have learned a lot from attending several of Núria's talks and highly recommend joining this bootcamp. ​Register​

...Oh, and if you're not a medical writer, Núria will be a guest speaker for The Grove community in March. You must be enrolled in ​Scientific Writing Simplified​ to join.

💬 Quote

”Writing long sentences is like adding water to tea; the more words, the weaker the message.” – Dianna Booher

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Grace, Undermining Conclusions, and Retractions as Corrections

I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't always been a good editor.

I still remember my mentor's disappointment when I overlooked the Greek symbols that were missing from the figures in the page proofs of my first publication. Yup, the paper was published without the Greek symbols. Sigh. So embarrassing.

I learned a few valuable lessons that day. One was to pay attention to all the little details when proofing a document, including every label in figures. Another was to slow down and not rush through the process of proofing a document.

And the third? Give yourself grace. We are all human, and we all overlook things and make mistakes. But we can learn from them so that we can do better next time.

So if you're feeling embarrassed by an oversight or mistake, give yourself grace and take away the lessons learned. And with each lesson, you will get just a bit better each day.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

​How to Avoid Undermining the Conclusions of Your Research Paper​
Do you end your research papers with your thoughts on the future directions of the study? If so, you are weakening the significance of your work. In this article, I share an easy strategy for maximizing the significance of your work in the power position of the paper.

👓 Reading

​Retractions as corrections: shifting the narrative​
"Retractions in academic publishing have long been viewed as a mark of shame, often associated with misconduct. However, this perception can in itself be detrimental to the integrity of the scientific record. . . in order for research to be self-correcting it might be time to shift the narrative and start to view retractions as ‘neutral tools’.”

🖥️ Watching

​Prepositions: Ending a Sentence With​
Do you avoid ending your sentences with prepositions? I often second-guess these types of sentences. But the Merriam-Webster dictionary says that "it is totally okay in English for a preposition to be what you end your sentence with."

🧰 Tools

​Circle​
Circle is a platform for hosting an online community, events, and ​courses​. For the past year, I've been testing Circle for The Grove community, and I've been impressed with the look, set up, and ease of navigating the platform. I recently moved Scientific Writing Simplified to the platform so that everything is located in one place for my students.

...Oh, and in case you're interested, enrollment for ​Scientific Writing Simplified​ opens next week!

💬 Quote

"Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose." – Zora Neale Hurston

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Giving, Receiving, and Accepting Feedback

Lately, I've had a lot of conversations with people about feedback. And in these conversations, I've noticed a trend: people are quick to give negative feedback and slow to give positive feedback (if they give positive feedback at all).

I wonder if this trend is because people often associate feedback with constructive criticism. But what about constructive credit? Positive feedback is just as constructive as negative feedback. Knowing what to do is just as important as knowing what not to do.

When I review someone's manuscript or grant, I make sure to highlight the positive attributes of the writing as well. I want encourage the good writing habits while also pointing out the habits that could be improved.

So the next time you are reviewing someone's writing, take an extra pass through the text to focus on giving constructive credit on what the authors did well.

And in case you'd like to learn strategies to give, get, and accept feedback, I put together a themed issue for this week's round-up.

Let's get to it...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

​Key Questions to Ask When Reviewing Your Grant Proposal​
Constructive feedback is a valuable part of writing a grant. But many authors will ask for feedback with vague questions that lead to vague answers. In this article, I share specific questions you can ask colleagues who review your grant so that you can get specific feedback to constructively improve the project.

🎧 Listening

How to Master the Difficult Art of Receiving (and Giving) Feedback​
In this podcast episode, Tim Ferriss and Sheila Heen discuss approaches to giving and receiving feedback. I appreciated Tim's approach of asking for feedback on his writing. He asks reviewers:

1. What do you find confusing or unclear?

2. If I could only keep 20% of this chapter, what should I absolutely keep?

3. If I had to cut 20% of this chapter, what should I cut?

4. Where does your mind wander when you're reading the chapter?

Then he looks at patterns between reviewers to help him make decisions about how to revise the text.

🖥️ Watching

​How to Respond to Negative Feedback at Work​
Do you struggle to accept negative feedback? In this video, Chad Littlefield shares some great advice about how to handle negative feedback at work (and at home). He suggests that we "catch" feedback to examine it objectively and pull out the hint of truth to keep and address.

​The secret to giving great feedback​
In this TED video, cognitive psychologist LeeAnn Renniger shares a four-part formula you can use to deliver a difficult message: (1) getting a micro-yes, (2) giving a data point, (3) sharing an impact statement, and (4) ending with a question.

💬 Quote

“The trick to viewing feedback as a gift is to be more worried about having blind spots than hearing about them.” – James Clear

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Alignment, Productivity, and Becoming Boards

Happy New Year!

Do you set New Year’s resolutions?

I stopped setting New Year’s resolutions many years ago. Like most people, I tended to abandon my resolutions within a week or two of the new year. In fact, today is widely known as Quitter's Day.

For the past few years, I've taken a different approach. Rather than set a resolution, I choose a word to set my intention for the year. This year, my word is "align."

Why?

One of my greatest values is to serve, which means I often say "yes" to more things that I can realistically take on. And last year, I took on too much.

Sometimes I found the challenges exciting and invigorating. Other times, those challenges led to overwhelm and mistakes.

This year, I'm transforming those mistakes into "missed-takes" (a perspective I learned from Matt Abrahams in the book Think Faster, Talk Smarter). I'm taking the lessons I learned and realigning my focus and energy so that I can serve better.

Do you have a word of the year? Hit reply and let me know.

Now onto the first round-up of 2025...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

5 Helpful Books to Boost Your Writing Productivity​
To maximize our productivity, we often focus on time management. But productivity is less about time management and more about attention management. These five books will help you develop strategies to manage your attention and maximize your writing productivity.

👓 Reading

10 Essential Tips To Stay Focused and Motivated Throughout The New Year​
This article shares some great strategies to stay focused and motivated to achieve your goals: have a compelling “why"; set SMART goals; celebrate your wins; try something new; have a plan, but be flexible; don’t go it alone; be consistent, not perfect; visualize the results; seek positivity; and go easy on yourself.

🖥️ Watching

A New Way to Make Vision Boards that Changes Everything​
When I've created vision boards in the past, I found inspiration but not motivation to accomplish my goals. So I stopped creating them. But I recently learned about an alternative to the vision board: the becoming board. A becoming board captures what your day-to-day will look like when you become the person you want to be. I love this idea and am already planning to create a becoming board.

🧰 Tools

Notion​
I've been using Notion for several years now. This software is a really powerful and highly customizable tool for managing tasks, projects, clients, and more. I also use it as my "external brain" to capture my thoughts and ideas.

💬 Quote

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Crumbling Sentences, Silent Letters, and the Best of 2024

It's hard to believe that 2024 is nearly over. What a year it's been! When I look back at the events of the year and all the things I appreciate, YOU are at the top of my list.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading my newsletter every week. And thank you for your incredible replies to share your thoughts, experiences, and recommendations.

I appreciate you. And I can't wait to continue this journey with you in the new year.

Now onto the last round-up of 2024...

💌 Round-up

🎉 Featured

Crumbling Sentences: Isolated and Expletive Pronouns Weaken the Foundation of Clear Medical Writing​
I'm delighted to share my recent publication in the AMWA Journal. In the article, I discuss how clear subjects help readers maintain forward momentum in the story, how isolated pronouns and expletive pronouns create unclear writing, and how you can revise these pronouns to make the reader's job easy.

💻 From My Desk

Top 10 Scientific and Medical Writing Articles in 2024
​At the end of each year, I review which of my resource articles were most read during the past year. This review helps me learn what resources you find most useful so that I can create more resources to help you become the best writer you can be. This article includes my 10 most-read articles on scientific and medical writing in 2024.

👓 Reading

There’s no best way to write something​
“One of the more important, and empowering, realizations a developing writer can come to is that there are many good ways to write something, and the job isn’t to find a unicorn-level perfect way but to find one of the many good ways. That’s much easier, and when approached with the right mindset can even be a lot of fun. . .Why isn’t there a single best way of writing something? The biggest reason, I think, is that there isn’t a single reader. . .In many cases, though, we can look to data to discover that some practices are more effective than others (or at least that some reader preferences are more common than others).”

🖥️ Watching

Who else wants a Silent Letter Day?​
The English language is full of words that contain silent letters. In this comedy sketch, Michael McIntyre shares how we might celebrate a Silent Letter Day when all the silent letters can come out to play. This sketch is definitely worth the watch.

🧰 Tools

Lose the Very​
I often recommend that authors omit adjectives and adverbs and choose strong verbs instead. When you are tempted to use the adverb very (or similar terms), this tool will help you find alternative words you can use instead.

Thank you so much for reading.

Wishing you a joyful end to this year and abundant success in the new year. I'll see you in 2025!

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Yearly Reviews, Writing Groups, and Good Writing Advice

Near the end of each year, I like to do a ​past-year review​ (courtesy of Tim Ferriss). This process has helped me identify what drains me and what motivates me so that I can focus on what I am most passionate about—helping you to be the best writer you can be.

For this process, I mostly follow Tim's advice, but I will personalize it in some way based on overall themes or challenges I've noticed from the past year. This year, I'm taking the process a bit deeper by adding a few (modified) questions I learned from ​Brian Johnson​:

• What did you love doing so much that you’d pay to do it?

• When did you feel most in flow, fully engaged, and joyful?

• What activities made you feel alive and leave you energized rather than drained?

• What pursuits would you continue to do even if there were no external rewards?

I'm really looking forward to the insights I'll gain through this process.

Do you do yearly reviews? If so, what is your process? Hit reply and let me know.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

​7 Great Reasons to Start a Writing Group​
Writing is often a solitary practice. But continually connecting with other writers can be immensely helpful for your writing and writing process. If you are not already part of a writing group, here are 7 reasons to join (or start) one in the new year.

👓 Reading

​What does good writing advice look like?​
What distinguishes good writing advice from bad writing advice? In this article, the author shares how good writing advice presents options, is evidence-based, knows one size doesn't fit all, neither ignores nor obsesses over rules, recognizes the human, and recognizes that writers vary.

​“The Best Home for This Paper”: A Qualitative Study of How Authors Select Where to Submit Manuscripts​
"In medical education, our findings reinforce previously identified factors such as fit with the scope of the journal, journal quality and reputation, journal audience, and technical factors (e.g., turnaround time). However, there are also deviations. Notably, our findings emphasize the role of social factors, relationships and personal experiences in ​journal selection​. Additionally, we observed increased consideration of OA [open access] and a shift away from an emphasis on journal prestige…”

​HHS Finalizes Rule on Research Misconduct to Foster Research Integrity​
"…the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), finalized the 2024 Public Health Service (PHS) Policies on Research Misconduct. This rule updates the 2005 regulation and clarifies requirements for addressing research misconduct in PHS-funded research.” Read the full article to get highlights on the updates.

💬 Quote

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." – C.S. Lewis

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Editing Time, Boring Writing, and the Human-AI Handshake

Thank you to everyone who shared their writing challenges with me over the past few weeks. I received a lot of great responses.

The biggest trend was that you want to learn ways to write/edit faster and easier. So I'll be thinking a lot about what resources I can create for you to help with that.

And for what you've likely been waiting for: the winners of a free 1:1 coaching session with me are (drumroll, please)...

Alessandra N., Kathy G., and Peter S. 🎉 Congratulations! I'll reach out to you directly to set up some time to meet. I can't wait to dig into your writing challenges.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

​Why Editing Takes So Much Time and Effort​
I am often asked why ​professional editors​ take so much time to review documents—and why editing services can cost as much as they do. A professional editor will devote a lot of time and energy into refining writing by asking themselves many important questions as they read each sentence of a draft. This effort is an investment not only in the writing, but also in the authors and readers.

👓 Reading

​Does academic writing have to be boring?​
"Academia as a culture promotes some bad habits of thought and being. Too many people in academia think it’s more important to show that you’re smart than it is to communicate with somebody. In fact, a writer, fearing being called “not smart,” is going to construct all kinds of defenses that inhibit understanding and communication. It tells their reader, 'If you work like a sled dog, you might be able to understand it; unless you can’t, in which case, well, that’s your problem.'

I think too many academic readers have had the experience of pushing through academic writing that behaves that way. We’re not taught often enough that writing clearly and crisply is more apt to be seen as smart, more apt to gain respect — and also more likely to communicate learning."

🎧 Listening

​Is the Human-AI Handshake the Future of CE? With Stephanie Preuss – Write Medicine Podcast​
In this episode, Stephanie Preuss, Director of Content Innovation at Springer Nature, shares her thoughts on how ​AI​ can help with the publishing process. Although I disagree with her perspective that professional books and scientific articles only need to share information (I believe that storytelling is important here, too), I appreciated her perspective on how AI tools will help authors in the publication process.

🖥️ Watching

​To Be or Not to Be: A Shakespearean Comedy Sketch​
In this 2-minute comedy sketch, you hear several actors stress different words in the well-known quote, "To be, or not to be? That is the question." I think this sketch is a great representation of how readers could each interpret our writing differently.

🧰 Tools

​Kit​
This very newsletter is brought to you via Kit (formerly known as Convertkit). I've tested many email marketing tools over the years, and I appreciate Kit's simplicity, user-friendliness, and excellent support resources.

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Special Holiday Edition

Welcome to a special holiday edition of the Interlude!

It's officially the holiday season, so I thought I'd share a short round-up of some of my favorite things that you might want to add to your gift list. I regularly use all these products. (These recommendations are not sponsored.)

I hope they inspire you to find the perfect gift for someone special (or yourself 😉).

💌 Round-up

⏰ A Gift of Time

​TextExpander​
The greatest gift we can give is time, and one of my favorite time-saving tools is TextExpander. This tool has saved me many hours of time since I started using it a couple of years ago. I highly recommend this tool to anyone who finds that they are writing the same text over and over again in emails, comments, documents, and more. This tool works across all programs on your computer.

☕️ A Gift of Warmth

​Corkcicle Mug​
On cold days, I like to enjoy a warm cup of tea while I work. To keep my tea warm for hours (yes, hours) I've been using one of these mugs. And the lid prevents major spills when I accidentally knock the mug over (which has happened a time or two 😜). And if you like iced tea, this mug will also keep iced beverages cold on a hot day.

🎧 A Gift of Safety

​Aftershokz Aeropex Headphones​
I run several days a week, so to stay safe of the trails (and road), I use these headphones. I can hear the wildlife and cars while also listening to a podcast, audiobook, or music while out and about. They have great sound quality, a battery that lasts for 8 hours, and are completely waterproof. The microphone also works well for walking meetings.

🎉 A Gift of Fun

​Scrabble​
What better game for a word nerd than Scrabble! I love a good games night (and potluck!) with friends. I have the classic version of Scrabble, but I have my eye on the deluxe version. If you like word games, I also recommend ​Bananagrams​, ​Boggle​, and ​Scattergories​. And I plan to add ​Stet! Dreyer's English​ to my collection soon.

📔 A Gift of Mindfulness

​The Five Minute Journal​
I have been using this journal for many years now. I love how in only five minutes in the morning and evening, you can cultivate gratitude and mindfulness with just a few simple prompts. The only thing I'd change is to add a hyphen to correct the name to "The Five-Minute Journal." 😉

🖊️ Gifts for Writers

​​Your 2023 Guide to Holiday Gifts for Writers​
I came across this post last year and saved it to share again this holiday season. If you're you looking for a holiday gift for a writer (or yourself), check out this incredible list of gifts for word nerds.

Happy Holidays!

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Comparisons, Junk Science, and Reference Management

I've been reading your survey responses about your writing struggles. So far, many of you have highlighted that your biggest struggle is writing faster and easier. And I'm getting some great questions at the end of the survey.

If you already completed the survey, THANK YOU!

If you haven't, I'd love to hear from you and would be so grateful for your time in completing the short survey.

Complete the survey

Be sure to answer the last question so that you can enter the contest for a one-on-one, 30-minute coaching call with me.

(By the way, I removed the disclaimer that the winners' coaching sessions may be shared publicly. I won't do that. I want to be sure that you feel comfortable sharing whatever is on your mind so that you can get the most out of the session.)

To participate, all you need to do is complete the survey by 11:59 pm PT on November 30, 2024.

I'll announce the three lucky winners in the newsletter on Friday, December 6, 2024.

I look forward to your response!

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

​The Right Words to Describe Comparisons​
One of my students recently asked me what I thought about the phrase "compare with." I think authors could use a clearer and more concise alternative.

👓 Reading

​The state of artificial intelligence in medical research: A survey of corresponding authors from top medical journals​ “To understand the scientific community’s understanding and perspective on the role of ​Artificial Intelligence​ (AI) in research and ​authorship​, a survey was designed for ​corresponding authors​ in top medical journals. . . Most of the researchers (40.6%) reported having moderate familiarity with artificial intelligence, while a minority (4.4%) had no associated knowledge. Furthermore, the vast majority (79.0%) believe that artificial intelligence will play a major role in the future of research. . . Despite lacking formal AI training, many scholars publishing in high-impact journals have started integrating such technologies into their projects, including rephrasing, translation, and proofreading tasks. Efforts should focus on providing training for their effective use, establishing guidelines by journal editors, and creating software applications that bundle multiple integrated tools into a single platform.”

​AI-Generated Junk Science Is Flooding Google Scholar, Study Claims​ “…AI tools like ChatGPT being used to produce fake scientific papers that are infiltrating Google Scholar, one of the most widely used academic search engines. . .These AI-generated studies, often indistinguishable from legitimate research, are spreading across academic databases and repositories, raising concerns about the integrity of online scientific literature.”

🧰 Tools

​Zotero​
I've recently worked on a few projects with authors who didn't use reference management software. (If this sounds like you, you can save so much time and energy by using a reference manager). I've used the free version of Zotero for years and highly recommend it.

💬 Quote

“I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say.” – Flannery O'Connor

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Community, Word Choice, and the Periodic Table

I've been thinking a lot about how I can create more resources for you. But to know the best direction to go, I really want to hear from you.

Will you help me understand your biggest writing challenges? All you need to do is complete a short survey. This survey is for everyone, whether your a client, a student, an Interlude enthusiast, or new to the Redwood Ink community.

I'd be so grateful for your time in completing this short survey. So as a token of my appreciation, I've included a question at the end to better understand exactly how I can help you with your current writing challenges.

I will read every response and personally select my three favorite responses. If your response is among them, I will invite you to join me for a one-on-one, 30-minute coaching call.

To participate, simply complete the survey by 11:59 pm PT on November 30, 2024, and be sure to answer the final question.

I'll announce the lucky winners in the newsletter on Friday, December 6, 2024.

I can't wait for your response!

Now for this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

👓 Reading

​For the love of all that is holy, stop writing “utilize”​
"A word doesn’t mean what a writer thinks it means; it means what readers think it means. And readers don’t, it seems, agree on what distinction there is between use and ​utilize​, or whether there’s any distinction at all. . .I think the real reason we use utilize is because it sound[s] science-y (and the simpler use doesn’t)."

​Suspicious phrases in peer reviews point to referees gaming the system​
"Hundreds of scientific papers bear signs of reviewers using templates to quickly churn out reports for personal gain. . . It’s an unusually detailed analysis of a little-noticed scheme that may be allowing some researchers to reap undeserved benefits for boilerplate or downright manipulative reviews. The practice may also be compromising the integrity of the scientific literature."

​“Insert witty catchphrase here!”: do title elements influence engagement and citation?— examining highly-cited research articles in media, communication, and related disciplines​
"…research articles whose ​titles​ contain catchphrases receive fewer usage count (i.e., engagement). Articles that mention specific geographic locations in their titles have lower usage count and ​citation​. Meanwhile, including at least one colon in the title may increase publication metrics. Title length, mentioning the methods, and question, on the other hand, did not have significant impacts. Other article- and presentation-related factors (e.g., the numbers of references), as well as journal-related factors (e.g., being published in special issues), significantly predict communication research articles’ publication metrics."

🖥️ Watching

The Meeting to Decide the Periodic Table​
When I learned the elements in the periodic table (many years ago), I remember wondering why the abbreviations were so inconsistent. In this reel, @stage_door_johnny shares a funny skit about how the inconsistent abbreviations may have been decided.

🧰 Tools

​ReallyWrite​
After watching the co-founder of ReallyWrite, Taylor Krohn, lead a ReallyWrite demo in The Grove community this week, I was reminded of how incredibly valuable this tool is in helping people to write well. I highly recommend you check it out.

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Precrastination, Verbs, and Scientific Graphics

Many writers face the challenge of procrastination in their writing process. But some writers face the opposite challenge: precrastination.

​Precrastination is the inclination to complete tasks quickly just to get them done as soon as possible.

For example, do you immediately reply to emails even though your response is not needed urgently? Do you rush to write an abstract for a conference as soon as the call for abstracts opens? Do you submit a manuscript before the text is really publication-ready so that you can just get it off your desk?

Although precrastination may sound like a great strategy to avoid procrastination and get a task done early, precrastination also has downsides. When you precrastinate, you might rush through projects and submit poor-quality work. You might expend more energy than needed to get the task done. Or you might juggle too many tasks at once to avoid carrying the cognitive load of thinking about an incomplete task.

How can you manage precrastination? Here are a few of strategies that have worked well for me.

• Turn off messaging and email notifications so that you do not feel compelled to reply immediately.

• Block time in your calendar to respond to emails and complete administrative tasks in batches.

• Automate repetitive tasks to streamline your time and avoid thinking about these tasks.

• Map out a plan to complete a project in a way that maximizes your time and energy in producing quality work.

• Break a larger task into smaller tasks to promote a sense of accomplishment as you complete the larger task.

What are your strategies for managing precrastination? Hit reply and let me know.

Let's get to the good stuff...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

Craft Compelling Aims with Strong Verbs​
Strong verbs add clarity and energy to your writing that fuel your reviewers' understanding and excitement—enticing them to fund your proposal (or accept your manuscript for publication).

👓 Reading

Verbs
​"Verbs help the reader move from the beginning of the sentence to the end. They drive movement between sentences. Imagine the reader skipping from verb to verb as they read."

​Hopeful Tips​
I had the pleasure of meeting Hope Lafferty at my first AMWA conference. She is an incredibly talented, thoughtful, and funny editor. And she has crafted 101 of her secret techniques to elevate your medical writing—for free!

🖥️ Watching

How to create scientific graphics: an inside look from Nature​
This video gives a behind-the-scenes look at how illustrators create scientific graphics that summarize research and enhance readers' comprehension.

🧰 Tools

NIH BioArt Source​
The NIH worked with professional illustrators to develop a library of 2000+ accurate science and medical images that you can use to build figures, presentations, websites, print materials, and more—for free!

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Competition vs Complement, Writing "Rules," and Lab Websites

Lately, I've heard a lot of comments about the mindset of other people in our field being our "competition." I've heard researchers share that they are rushing to publish something quickly in fear of being "scooped." I've also heard freelancers describe other freelancers as their rivals.

Although the mindset of competition may make sense in team sports, I think this mindset is flawed in "team science." We all have something unique to offer, whether it's a different approach, perspective, experience, or foundation of knowledge.

So rather than thinking of others in your field as your competition, I encourage you to think of them as your complement. You each bring unique qualities that can collectively make something better to advance science.

Not convinced? Many Nobel Prizes are shared awards. Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun share a 2024 Nobel Prize for discovering microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna share a 2020 Nobel Prize for discovering CRISPR. And Shinya Yamanaka and Sir John B. Gurdon share a 2012 Nobel Prize for discovering that mature cells can be reprogrammed into immature cells that can develop into other tissues of the body.

These scientists complemented each other's work to advance their field. And like scientists with unique expertise and experience, freelance writers and editors also complement each other—and researchers—with unique expertise and experience.

So as you navigate your careers, I encourage you to think of others in your field as your complement, not your competition.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

👓 Reading

Is scientific writing getting better or worse?​
In this article, Stephen Heard shares his thoughts on changes in scientific writing over the past 30 years and how they are improving or degrading our writing. He believes that the return to active voice and publishing online are improving our writing, and that an obsession with reproducibility and the use of acronyms are degrading our writing. He also shares that online supplements and artificial intelligence are both degrading and improving our writing.

​Why is academic writing so hard to read?​
"When ideas and research results are difficult to understand, it hurts all of humanity. It creates barriers rather than breaking them down. It prevents us from working together efficiently to tackle the hard problems of our age. . .I think that academic writing is so hard to do well partly because young [and seasoned] academics erroneously think they have to conform to countless random "rules"--many of which only serve to make their writing harder to understand."

​Why a good lab website matters​
This article describes great recommendations for building a lab website that maximizes the impact of your work, profiles your lab members and their accomplishments, describes your lab culture and values, shares available opportunities, and so much more.

​WriteCME Roadmap​
I was fortunate to receive a preview copy of this book written by Alex Howson, PhD. She has crafted a book full of insightful and practical guidance for medical writers who aspire to (or already) work in continuing medical education. And her caring, encouraging words will make you feel like you have a mentor every step of the way. The book was released yesterday, and you can order a copy and RSVP for the launch party.

🖥️ Watching

Beware of nominalizations (AKA zombie nouns) - Helen Sword​
Yesterday was Halloween, so I thought I'd share my favorite video about nominalizations (or abstract nouns). I really like the creativity of the story and design.

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Conferences, Presentations, and Networking

This week's intro will be short and sweet (like a mini cupcake).

I'm currently connecting with other word nerds, wordsmith wizards, and communication gurus at a conference hosted by the American Medical Writers Association. If you're attending the conference, and you see me out in the wild (or you attend one of my sessions), come on over to say hello.

This week, I've curated some of my favorite resources related to presentations and networking. Let's get to the good stuff...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

10 Things to Avoid Saying in Your Research Presentation​
While preparing for my sessions at the conference, I reviewed my list of phrases to avoid saying in a presentation. The word that I still trip over from time to time is "um." What words or phrases do you tend to trip over in your presentations?

​How to Network at a Conference as an Introvert​
As an introvert, I've often struggled to network in a large room full of people. But over the years, I've collected a few strategies that work well for me. If you face similar challenges with networking, you might find these strategies helpful for connecting with people at conferences and other events.

👓 Reading

6 places to find images for your medical writing article [or presentations]
Looking for free images to include in your articles and presentations? This post includes links to six websites with images that you can download for free (note that some images require attribution).

🖥️ Watching

How to Create a Great Opening for Your Presentation or Pitch​
Do you struggle with how to start a presentation? In this video, Tamsen Webster, a TEDx strategist, describes three great ways to open your talk: cold open, warm open, and hot open.

​How to Interact With an Audience During a Presentation​
When giving a talk, a great way to engage the audience is to make the presentation interactive. In this video, Chad Littlefield shares two ways that you interact with an audience: the popcorn and ping-pong methods.

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal