The Node writing challenge 

During September we ran a writing challenge, giving contributors to the Node a chance to win £200 for publishing a blog post on our website. We really appreciate the effort that all of our contributors put into sharing posts on the site, and we hoped that the challenge would help motivate and encourage writers to share their ideas. The Node is a community for all, regardless of experience, background, skills or career stage. For this reason, we decided to award the prize by randomly selecting the winner rather than a competitive format. We hope this approach reassured authors to share on the Node without apprehension that their work would be judged. 

The Node, as well as our other community sites, preLights and FocalPlane, give you a place to share your writing and provide a network that supports you through the writing process. With this in mind, please reach out to any of our Community Managers if you would like to discuss any ideas or drafts for the sites, or if you would like to join the preLights community team. In addition to written posts, the Node welcomes other types of audio or visual communication, including images, illustrations and videos. With challenges such as this one, we also want to remind our readers and authors that anyone can write and publish a blog, and you don’t need an invitation to do so.  

The winner of our writing challenge was Umaymah Ahmad with the post ‘It’s about who you know, not what you know. Uh Oh.’. This entry explores how personal connections are crucial in academia and discusses overcoming impostor syndrome in professional environments. Check out our interview with Umaymah: 

Tell us about yourself: I am currently in my final year of studying medicinal chemistry. Throughout my studies, I enjoy researching and learning about new topics, and ultimately writing about them. I’ve always had a passion for writing, whether it’s writing a simple opinion piece to entering the odd essay competition. Understanding why things work the way they do has always come to me through writing about and visualising concepts. I enjoy being able to translate theories and ideas into words, to make better sense of the world around me. I also enjoy playing logic puzzles and word games, including the occasional Sudoku, and I hope to never make the grave mistake of missing a Wordle. 

Can you describe your research journey? Throughout my studies, my first two years involved developing practical skills and getting an insight into what it is like in research. As part of my BSc project in my third year, I am currently researching MOF’s (Metal Organic Frameworks), which are made using repeating ligands and singular or clusters of metal ions. These structures have pores that can be used in a multitude of ways, specifically in improving efficacy and enhancing drug delivery. With a potential to be modified post-synthesis, they have been applied in the biomedicine field, in bioimaging and sensing. 

What inspired you to write this story? I mainly just wanted anyone who feels as if they are ‘out of place’ or an ‘impostor’ to know they are not alone in that feeling, and it is just a feeling, not a reality. I have felt that countless times. Occasionally, it feels like you know a little about A LOT, and every step forward you take makes you feel further behind, but everyone else is also at the same stage, and has felt that before. Having that reassurance can help you escape that spiral, and I hope the story I wrote will reassure everybody, whatever stage of their career or studies they may be at. 

Do you have any advice on writing a post for the Node community?  What helps me to write is initially having a draft that to someone else, can seem like a whole different language. Noting down every point you would like to discuss, whether it be through a list of acronyms or abbreviations, or a collection of jargon that has meaning to you/your research. Whatever makes sense to you, write everything you want to say down, no matter how incoherent or grammatically incorrect it may be. Opening a new blank document and sifting through the unfiltered draft helps you better pick out key points and can help you build a rough guide as to what points require more or less detail, and ultimately, the direction your article takes. 

Have you done any other writing before this post? My experience stems mainly from writing articles for a newsletter at my university. I mainly wrote opinion pieces that raised awareness to a range of humanitarian causes. I also wrote opinion pieces linking to the theme of the monthly issue, which really helped me convey across my thoughts and allow others to look through a different lens. I hope to continue my writing journey by publishing articles, and opinion pieces on platforms such as the Node, where I can further develop as a writer. 

You find all the blog posts that were entered in the writing challenge here: https://thenode.biologists.com/tag/2025-writing-challenge/.

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