https://tctechwriter.com/

Ask Good Questions

UncleWillie — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:58:39 +0000

Asking good questions sounds easy. Moreover, when preceded by good lstening, it is. The most competent technical writer has planned a way of obtaining information. It’s the “Invisible Outline.”

The Invisble Outline constitutes the interviewer’s plan of action. Outline the subject, drill down and outline the separate segments of the subject, and then go interview a “Subject Matter Expert.” Am I really saying “Know what you’re writing about before you do an interview?” Well, yes!

The outline is the “Big Picture.” It’s why I’m a writer. See the whole text, or download.

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Ending Arguments

UncleWillie — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 07:22:08 +0000

…Enter the “Documentation Specialist”. Now we’re getting somewhere. Now we can finally call’em like we see ‘em. Bob asks Sally to stop turning in her hang orders without filling oput the proper variables. Sally tells Bob it’s redundant because the spec form has the same information. Then the Customer Service Manager finds in the suggestion box yet another request tochange the forms. On and on and on.

In the middle of it all, the technical writer hasd come to save the day. Find out where it went wrong…, or print the full story.

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SOP Training Book

UncleWillie — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 23:59:59 +0000

Back when Quark was an actual product, this was used for an SOP for a small manufacturing company. Without a budget this was cobbled together for a disagreeable group to forge a new law: “If it’s not in the book, we ain’t doin’ it”. To view…

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Search Engine Optimization Projects

UncleWillie — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:38:42 +0000

Basic search engine algorithms can be “enhanced” in a multitude of ways. Finding your site, or anyone’s for that matter, depends on many (much debated) factors. Links in, links out, the dubious “authority-site” concept, etcetera.

Not a writing project per se, but an excercise in learning Web design and editing software, these projects gave me opportunity to see first-hand a variety of internet based commerce and marketing techniques.

Building and re-building sites, editing photography and graphics, creating pages from scratch or from templates, all helped make me a more versatile writer.

Some sites for a project:

These sites were part of a larger project intended for SEO outcomes and Web design.

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ERP Project

UncleWillie — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:28:38 +0000

Dozens of screen shots, nested and layered to fit the required format. This excerpt shows typical page layouts. Created from scratch, this project became a training document. View

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A Simple Workflow diagram

UncleWillie — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:56:40 +0000

Asked to outline QC processes and checkpoints by a client, I found it useful to illustrate the pattern that order processing took, rather than write out the procedures. This short-hand was a good starting point to begin a client’s quest for ISO certification. We fleshed out the details for each operation, but the outline this represents was the first step. To see the Visio workflow…

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TV Commercial Script: the Fast and the Furriest

UncleWillie — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:38:01 +0000

Ever been to a dog track? See how they run? Maybe this will give you ‘paws’ the next time you hear about the hardest workin’ dawgs in da bidness!

“See” the K90’s Dog Track here! Or, you dirty doggone download it!

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Biography…

UncleWillie — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:44:53 +0000

Everyone needs a creative outlet. On a site designed to showcase writing, I’ve created a page called “Bio…” The idea was to have a little fun, at no one’s expense. I can only hope that anyone reading it will “get it” as a harmless poke at life in some mythical place.

Of course the “tc” in tech writer is real. I do reside in the Twin Cities. However, the “tc” in the site name could stand for for many things. Example: “technical communicator,” one of the fields in which I endeavor.

Or perhaps ”timely comedy,” a humorous bent that life requires. One last variant fits well defining one of this writer’s basic motivations: truly curious. A virtue, I would think.

One thing “tc” does NOT mean: time clock

“Time clock” speaks to a work ethic. I don’t use a time clock. Don’t need one. Work is important, virtuous, vital. Purposeful. When put to good use, I’m totally committed to finish what was started, and see that it was done well.

See the Bio… page.

Thanks,

Steve Wilson

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Radio Commercial Script: the Tree Whisperers

UncleWillie — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:55:00 +0000

Here is a funny radio commercial, audio slapstick, for a Tree Service Company. It stars the usual bumbling characters. You may download “The Tree Whisperers” or view it here<–

Who says we have to be “tecknickle” all the time?

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Manufacturing Work Instruction

UncleWillie — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:22:16 +0000

An excerpt provides a glimpse at how a work instruction contract was executed. All from scratch, with hundreds of photographs, illustrations, and diagrams. View

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