Goodreads asked Caitlin O'Connell:

How do you get inspired to write?

Caitlin O'Connell I've always been interested in writing fiction, but the opportunity to write nonfiction came first so I jumped on it. I got interested in nonfiction as a scientist because I realized that scientists need to be able to present their work as a narrative that anyone could understand. And the narrative form of telling science turned out to be quite an interesting challenge and actually taught me how to be a better observer. I set myself the personal challenge of making my science more engaging and found that mantra to be very important and successful. I ended up teaching narrative science writing for Stanford and the NYT which was quite a rewarding process. Now more than ever, it is imperative to convey the importance of science to the general public and the more tools that scientists can acquire to become better communicators, the better off we will be as a nation and global community.

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