Probably the biggest problem I struggle with as a space science writer is the “who cares” question. I’ll pitch a recent bit of research and my editor will remind me that my audience needs to know why this matters. It isn’t enough that something is super-freaking-awesome; I need to give a broader context. Not surprisingly,

As a freelance writer, most of my assignments fall in the realm of news articles. News articles generally focus on a single piece of research, and include quotes from one of the researchers and, occasionally, one other outside source. Far more time-consuming are the longer features, such as those found in magazines. Features can contain