Once or twice in my career as a technical writer I've been lucky enough to work with an editor. But often we technical writers work alone and have to proofread our own writing.
My grandfather was a newspaper editor, so I learned at a young age, that spelling mistakes and grammatical errors were unacceptable. I guess that's why I have a highly-tuned radar for typos. But I admit I miss things too. Here are a few tricks to help you avoid the embarrassment of poor proofreading:
1. Read the docum...
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Writing
Keeping the writing fresh
Working as a technical writer, it's easy to focus on the tools we use. Learning new tools and implementing new processes is fun and exciting.
But often we have to update the same manuals, write the same documents, produce content using the same branding and styles over and over. And our writing can become dull and lifeless.
I was thinking about this the other day when I was out for dinner. I was eating a salad, picking around some particularly limp lettuce. I wanted to toss this salad in t...
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Writing about new product features
Writing about new product features can be hard work, much like digging the garden to prepare for planting vegetables in Spring.
Often technical writers are called in at the last minute to write about a feature that has taken months of development effort and has a specification document running to 100 pages or more. And the release is going out tomorrow!
I first heard about the gardening analogy to writing from Diana Gabaldon, author of the award-winning Outlander novels, and generous suppo...
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