More Changes to Report and Reflections on the Future

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Bart Leahy

Last month saw me in a bit of a flurry as I was informed that my long-time customer had decided not to renew my contract. Panic! Weep! Wail! I probably needn’t have gotten so stressed out, but a career shift is not easy, especially if you’ve gotten comfortable with it. This month I experienced more changes as I moved from one mode of contracting to another and contemplated what to do next. Continue reading →

Posted in careers, consulting, education, freelancing, job hunting, personal, workplace | 3 Comments

What a Difference a Month Makes!

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Bart Leahy

As I noted in my previous entry, I’m scaling back on my Heroic Technical Writing posts. That doesn’t mean work has stopped or I have nothing to say; I’m just trying to be a little more judicious about how often I share. It turns out that January was a rather active month, personally and professionally. Continue reading →

Posted in careers, clients, consulting, editing, freelancing, instructional design, job hunting, personal, proposal writing, technical writing, Technology, workplace | 3 Comments

Heroic Technical Writing in 2023

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Bart Leahy

Some of you might have noticed that my posting frequency has dropped off a bit in the past year. This was a conscious decision on my part, as I was facing a lot of deadline pressure from my various customers, twice a week turns out to be a LOT of writing, and I didn’t always have something interesting to say. I have been writing this blog since 2011, and most of the wisdom I have to share regarding the practice of technical writing I’ve managed to share. Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, personal, technical writing | 3 Comments

Creating an Executive Memo

Posted on December 23, 2022 by Bart Leahy

This week I had to work on an end-of-the-year summary memo that was going to an executive. The original draft took me three hours while the next draft took an hour–I kid you not. The next draft will probably take half that time. Why is that? The short answer is that a lot more thought goes into an internal message to the “Big Boss” than you might imagine. Continue reading →

Posted in clients, editing, leadership, management, Office Politics, peers, technical writing, workplace | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Beaver Dams, Culverts, and Technical Communication

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Bart Leahy

Every once in a while, I find a fun example of technical communication “in the wild,” which is to say in an environment you wouldn’t necessarily expect or associate with technical communication. This week, I offer up the YouTube videos of a young man named David whose posting handle is “post 10.” His video narrations of clearing out street culverts are excellent examples of verbal and video technical communication. No, really. Trust me on this. Continue reading →

Posted in education, technical writing, workplace | Tagged , , | 1 Comment