Particle physics isn’t exactly simple. But just because a topic is complicated or serious doesn’t mean writing about it has to be.
Take the superconductor supercollider that Switzerland-based CERN has been working on for the past 14 years. The 17-mile circumference Large Hadron Collider, which is intended to look for new particles that explain why things weigh what they do, is finally going online sometime soon.
That’s dense stuff. But a 23-year-old PR writer named Kate McAlphine who works in CERN’s press office made the world’s biggest science experiment sound like child’s play in this five-minute rap music video that’s quickly become a YouTube hit. It’s a very Schoolhouse Rock take on the subject that mixes lyrics with video of the collider and diagrams of how it works:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6aU-wFSqt0&hl=en&fs=1]
The take away for freelancers: when it comes to describing difficult subjects, use your imagination. If straight text isn’t going to cut it to explain a difficult concept, consider adding graphics, maps, diagrams or even music to get your idea across. Also, the better you know a subject, the easier it can be to play around with alternatives to linear narrative to tell a story.
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[...] You don’t have to be serious to write about serious subjects [...]
[...] written before about not needing to be serious to write about serious topics, like the hip hop YouTube video that humorously but succinctly explained the Large Hadron [...]