Ask the Author: Stephen Jacob Sekula
Answered Questions (6)
Stephen Jacob Sekula
Walk away and work on research and teaching. Inspiration comes from putting something down. Get distracted. It opens up the mind in new ways, and lets you see new ways of approaching an idea.
Stephen Jacob Sekula
Being done writing, then being dissatisfied with how you're not writing anymore, and then picking up a new project and starting all over.
Stephen Jacob Sekula
Write... a LOT. Write as much as you can. Share it with people who can be honest with you about your writing, and who can offer you perspectives on how to improve. You should also read as much as you can, but if you're working in one particular genre avoid reading material in that genre while you're working. You want your ideas to be your own.
Stephen Jacob Sekula
This book is a work of nonfiction, but I also enjoy writing fiction. I have hopes of publishing a novella I wrote a few years ago, and perhaps some other bits of fiction that I've developed over the years. However, my main focus remains my research and my teaching, which are very time-consuming and my primary intellectual activity.
Stephen Jacob Sekula
I write best when I have few distractions. For me, early mornings with a few cups of coffee, dark or the low light of sunrise, and a quiet room with only a desk and a computer are the best. Since this book was an effort to communicate what is known and unknown in modern physics, inspiration for that topic came easily. I am a physicist because I am inspired by questions and mystery. The universe offers much in this regard, and so I am enthusiastic about passing this along to a new generation of possible researchers.
Stephen Jacob Sekula
I was inspired by books on physics (written for a more general audience) when I was younger, and so it seemed natural to me to one day contribute to the cycle of inspiration by documenting today's challenges in physics for the audience of tomorrow. Frank Blitzer initiated this book project many years ago, and several years back was joined by Jim Gates, who brought tremendous expertise in theoretical physics to the project. I was invited to join in 2016 due to my experimental particle physics expertise, and a wonderful collaboration was born. It was important to me to especially communicate about the Higgs particle, its discovery and implications. It was also important to me to communicate the mysteries of dark matter and the expansion of the universe.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more