My first appearance in a podcast – Application the TYPO3 Community Podcast, season 1 episode 4.
Wrap-up 2020
Things I did this year
Season of Docs Retro
I presented this talk at the Write the Docs Meetup Melbourne in February 2020.
It is a retrospective on the Google Season of Docs 2019 program, and covers some of the hurdles I experienced coming in to open source from the corporate world. Continue reading “Season of Docs Retro”
I presented this talk at the Write the Docs Meetup Melbourne in February 2020.
It is a retrospective on the Google Season of Docs 2019 program, and covers some of the hurdles I experienced coming in to open source from the corporate world. Continue reading “Season of Docs Retro”
Project Report for Season of Docs 2019
The inaugural Google Season of Docs program ran from March through to November 2019, to bring open source projects and technical writers together.
My submission was accepted and I worked on a project for the Open Source Geospatial Foundation.
Collaboration in Tech Writing
I love collaborative writing. I think it is sometimes the best way to achieve excellence in a piece of written work.
Continue reading “Collaboration in Tech Writing”Creative problem solving for tech writers
How much problem solving do you do in your role as a tech writer? I used to do quite a lot. The company I was working at had a start-up mentality and culture. New ideas were encouraged and we usually had little to no budget. Continue reading “Creative problem solving for tech writers”
DITA done for you
Let’s face it: DITA is hard work. There is a steep learning curve and once you get it, you feel like you deserve an “I’ve climbed Everest” t-shirt.
A little while ago, I developed an open-source sample DITA project. It is hosted on GitHub and is based on a 1960’s Morris Mini Minor Owner’s manual. Continue reading “DITA done for you”
Comma splices and cultural differences
The craft of crochet is fundamentally the same, but the stitch names are different in the UK and the US. The same stitches have different names. A single crochet (sc) in America is a double crochet (dc) in England. You have to be very aware of the origin of your pattern before you start.
And knitting comes in English and Continental style flavours. The same fundamental concept, just that you hold the yarn and needles differently.
Same same, but different
Unword of the Day
a whole nother
very unique
do the needful
revert
expel the virtues
My husband used to work on a project at a major bank, and he dealt with staff in their many South East Asian offices. Working with lots of people who have English as their second language, he encountered a wide range of unusual language usage. Continue reading “Unword of the Day”
What’s your favourite font?
Some time ago I applied for a tech writing job and part of the application process required me to fill out some questions online. They were standard scenario questions like “Describe a time you had to handle multiple conflicting priorities” but one of the questions was “What’s your favourite font?” Continue reading “What’s your favourite font?”
