Another Last-Minute Post

Posted on July 27, 2017 by

Apologies, people. I’m going on vacation next week and trying to get things out the door, so the blog is getting short shrift again. The good news is, I have a couple of very nice, well-thought-out pieces for while I’m gone, so you can look forward to those. And if you’re someone who’s blogging for fun and you don’t hit your deadline, take heart: the world will not end.

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Oh My Gosh, I Missed a Deadline!

Posted on July 24, 2017 by

I just realized this very moment that I didn’t have a blog posted for today. I apologize. I trust you folks will forgive my lapse–and I’ll definitely have something written up for Thursday.

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The Tyranny of the Urgent

Posted on July 20, 2017 by

I touched on this subject a little over three years ago, and it still remains relevant. Planning and strategizing are as important for the freelancer as they are for any business, but are often neglected while we deal with the tyranny of the urgent everyday tasks that must be done NOW. However, we owe it to ourselves to be proactive and to think about the future and the big picture before we’re caught off-guard, and the important becomes the urgent. Continue reading →

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Reader Response: How Do You Handle Questions You Can’t Answer?

Posted on July 17, 2017 by

Ask and ye shall receive. I got some great questions from readers this past week. Today’s question is from Matt, who’s a regular reader (thank you!). The short version of his question was, how do you handle questions you can’t answer? My short-version answer would be: don’t apologize for not being an engineer or not knowing everything and don’t make stuff up. I have more thoughts below.

Continue reading →

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Reader Response: Is There Work You Would Not Do?

Posted on July 13, 2017 by

I’m always open to new topics for Heroic Technical Writing, and I’d like to thank my friend Sarah Across the Pond for today’s question, the short version of which is, is there work you would not do? The short answer is: not if I can help it. Continue reading →

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Do You Need a Diplomacy Filter?

Posted on July 10, 2017 by

Sometime in my twenties, I started realizing that people could get hurt or offended by my choice of words in a business document. I wasn’t insulting people (deliberately) or using vulgar language. I was, however, not always aware of some of the sensitivities people can have toward how I phrased things. From that point on, if I found myself in a situation where I thought I might get into trouble, I made certain to have my writing reviewed by my “diplomacy filter.” Do you have one? Continue reading →

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Writing for Government Agencies in a Partisan Political Environment

Posted on July 6, 2017 by

When political passions get heated in a free society, individuals writing for government agencies can find the mere act of posting information challenging. While I’ll provide examples below, the short version of my advice is: “Write what the party/person in charge says, but don’t alienate the opposition. You need to write for everyone.” Continue reading →

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