How Noted Scientist & Bestselling Author of ‘Soonish’ Dr. Kelly Weinersmith Writes

The noted research scientist, top 20 podcast host, and co-author of the instant New York Times bestselling book Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything, Dr. Kelly Weinersmith, took a timeout from her book tour to talk with me about the importance of good writing in the sciences, what it’s like to write a book with your husband, and finding time to be a writer and a mom.

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Kelly is an adjunct faculty member in the Biosciences department at Rice University, as well as the co-host of two podcasts for the Brachiolope Media Network.

She co-hosts a top 20 natural sciences podcast, “Science … sort of,” as well as “The Weekly Weinersmith,” a podcast she produces with her husband, celebrated cartoonist Zach Weinersmith (creator of the web comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal) where the two discuss papers and interview scientists.

The natural progression for the couple was their New York Times bestseller Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything, described as a “… snapshot of what’s coming next — from robot swarms to nuclear fusion powered-toasters.”

The Cofounder of Reddit said of the book, “Soonish will make you laugh and — without you even realizing it — give you insight into the most ambitious technological feats of our time,” and NPR said, “The Weinersmiths … lay out, clearly and with a wry sense of humor, exactly what it might take to get us there.”

Kelly was a speaker at Smithsonian magazine s The Future Is Here Festival in 2015, and her work has been featured in The Atlantic, National Geographic, BBC World, Science, and Nature.

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In this file Kelly Weinersmith and I discuss:

• What it’s like to take a one-year-old on a nerdy book tour
• Her circuitous path to New York Times bestselling author
• How the author schedules research, writing, and interviews into her busy life
• The organizational tools that helped her stay on track
• How her natural comedic rapport with her husband bled into her writing
• Why sci-fi writers should read Soonish
• How to condition yourself to take criticism online

Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ...

Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes

• If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to StudioPress.com
• Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything – Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
• Weinersmith.com – Kelly’s website
• “Science … sort” podcast –
  Produced by Brachiolope Media Network
• “The Weekly Weinersmith” podcast
• Soonish AR app
• Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal – Zach’s web comic
• How Andy Weir (Bestselling Author of The Martian ) Writes: Part One
• Kelly Weinersmith on Twitter
• Kelton Reid on Twitter

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