Writing

Posts in my writing category focus in some way on the practice of writing. This could involve techniques for organizing content, coming up with ideas, how to get into states of flow, or other topics related to writing. The writing category is broader than simply technical writing, which is the more specific focus of this blog.

Email Newsletter

Recent posts

Popular series

Search results

Writing

One year later after moving to Seattle | Dec 22, 2021

Broadcasting your meeting notes (API documentation topic) | Dec 11, 2021

Five basketball strategies and how they might apply to tech comm | Jul 7, 2021

Balancing product overviews with getting started tutorials | Jul 6, 2021

Videocast: Micro content and Flare -- Conversation with Kate Schneider | Mar 21, 2021

Write the Docs Podcast episode 33: Simplified user interfaces, with Anton Bollen | Jan 19, 2021

Site analytics for 2020 -- trends, reflections, and thoughts | Jan 18, 2021

Measuring documentation quality -- a rubric for developer docs | Jan 12, 2021

Documentation templates and The Good Docs Project -- guest post by Ankita Tripathi | Nov 17, 2020

The story behind Document360 -- podcast with founder Saravana Kumar | Nov 17, 2020

Process for collecting feedback post-release (new article in API doc course) | Nov 16, 2020

Write the Docs Podcast episode 32: Self-publishing and AsciiDoc, with Mehmed Pasic | Nov 2, 2020

Processes for maintaining existing documentation (new article in API doc course) | Oct 30, 2020

Developer experience (DevX) usability (new article in API doc course) | Oct 12, 2020

Does working outside with the world as your office actually work? | Oct 8, 2020

New article in API course: Processes for reviewing documentation | Sep 23, 2020

On cultivating a garden while the world is crumbling around you | Sep 18, 2020

Inexpensive media hosting and CLI uploading with Wasabi? | Sep 1, 2020

Playing a product design role as a content designer -- podcast with Jonathon Colman | Aug 24, 2020

When 10X translates into -10X: debunking the myth of the 10X technical coder/writer | Aug 20, 2020

SDK release process article added to API doc course | Aug 19, 2020

DX content strategy article added to API doc course | Aug 19, 2020

Processes for managing large documentation projects and small documentation requests | Aug 13, 2020

A tip for doc reviews -- bring a list of questions | Jul 24, 2020

Write the Docs Podcast episode 30: Documentation templates, with Juan Lara | Jul 20, 2020

Writing productivity tip: Focus sessions | Jul 12, 2020

Treat code like code and prose like prose | Jun 16, 2020

Write the Docs Podcast episode 28: UX writing processes and considerations | Mar 24, 2020

Life on reset -- new dynamics emerging | Mar 23, 2020

Working from home — things I've bought | Mar 22, 2020

How life has changed with the pandemic | Mar 16, 2020

Is there a place for exploratory writing in the workplace? | Mar 10, 2020

*How* you write influences *what* you write — interpreting trends through movements from PDF to web, DITA, wikis, CCMSs, and docs-as-code | Feb 20, 2020

Reflections on my 2019 site analytics | Jan 8, 2020

Long-term strategies for project productivity | Oct 22, 2019

How to avoid inefficiencies even with context switching | Jun 6, 2019

My slide links and presentation descriptions at the 2019 STC Summit | May 4, 2019

First look at Document360 -- an authoring/publishing tool that satisfies both KB and tech pubs needs | Apr 22, 2019

When you're in the business of complexification | Apr 11, 2019

Why I decided not to become a grasshopper expert, or, Not deciding your focus based on where readers are clicking | Apr 9, 2019

A hypothesis on how to exert more influence and visibility inside the corporation | Apr 8, 2019

Master's in technical writing at Mercer — FAQ | Mar 26, 2019

Results from survey about engineers who write documentation | Mar 21, 2019

My documentation takeaways from the Boeing disaster -- two essential doc questions to ask for any project | Mar 20, 2019

Should you get a degree in a tech comm program? Two considerations to keep in mind | Mar 13, 2019

Write the Docs podcast episode 20: Minimum requirements for good tech docs, with Matt Reiner | Mar 3, 2019

Recording and slides for my trends presentation at the Symposium for Communicating Complex Information (SCCI) | Feb 24, 2019

How to become a 10X technical writer in the workplace | Feb 7, 2019

Is Premium Grammarly worth it for identifying style and grammar issues in tech docs? | Dec 28, 2018

Top 10 holiday gifts for technical writers | Dec 18, 2018

How to avoid being a secretary for engineers | Nov 19, 2018

I'd Rather Be Writing is now an Alexa Flash Briefing skill | Nov 5, 2018

Write the Docs Podcast Episode 17: Structured Writing -- reasons and approaches, with Mark Baker | Oct 23, 2018

Brainstorming by transposing patterns from one category to another | Oct 19, 2018

Tech comm trends -- why tech writers will be collaborating more with engineers | Oct 9, 2018

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part I) | Oct 2, 2018

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part II) | Oct 2, 2018

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part III) | Oct 2, 2018

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part IV) | Oct 2, 2018

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part V) | Oct 2, 2018

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part VI) | Oct 2, 2018

Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part VII) | Oct 2, 2018

Write the Docs Podcast episode 16: An open-source Grammarly for tech docs? | Sep 6, 2018

How I handled data for about 10 device specifications on the same page -- the advantages of a flexible, customizable web-based framework like Jekyll | Aug 31, 2018

If writing is no longer a marketable skill, what is? | Aug 9, 2018

The right story for tech writers to tell in a corporate blog post | Aug 2, 2018

Random reflections on the throwaway mentality in our culture | Jul 3, 2018

The reason I always find time to write on this blog | May 18, 2018

Write the Docs Podcast episode 14: Humanizing your documentation | Mar 23, 2018

How to become a voracious reader | Dec 1, 2017

How do you communicate user progress in a course without a Learning Management System (LMS)? | Nov 28, 2017

Intro to API Documentation -- recording of presentation to STC Silicon Valley chapter on 11/20/2017 | Nov 19, 2017

Balancing writing, editing, and learning in equal measures | Nov 18, 2017

SwaggerHub: A collaborative platform for working on OpenAPI/Swagger specification files, and more | Oct 5, 2017

Has plain language deepened or ruined our delight in language? | Sep 20, 2017

How you write influences what you write — interpreting trends through movements from PDF to web, DITA, wikis, CCMSs, and docs-as-code | Feb 20, 2020