The other day Jane called and said I should come home because water was bubbling up in the sprinkler box in the yard. I don’t know anything about sprinkler systems, so with a sense of dread I drove home. Sure enough, the valve box was a puddle of water. I do know how to shut off the water to the sprinklers, so I did that … more »

Working in technology, I spend a good amount of my time troubleshooting. When things go wrong, I’ve learned a few tips and techniques: Compare line by line against a working model List all the components and how they work together Challenge every assumption Reboot or reinstall Google the error messages you see Site-search key sites Come back to it later Contact an expert Post the … more »

Tapping your creative juices Interesting division of challenges into component parts: “Sometimes the problem is cognitive, e.g. learning and explaining. Sometimes the problem is emotional, e.g. conflict resolution. Sometimes the problem is spiritual, e.g. conflict of interest. Sometimes the problem is physical, e.g. constrained by available resources. And most of the time the problem is a lovely blending of components that taxes body, soul, and … more »

A listener to the Tech Writer Voices podcast suggested I do a podcast on the following: Give ideas to people who are just starting out in technical writing. What is the base of knowledge that every technical writer should have? And so in preparation for the podcast, I offer these five skills or characteristics as absolute musts for the technical writer: