I’m approaching another solar orbit (tomorrow, 50-something). Rather than taking the day off, I thought I’d share some “Best of Heroic Technical Writing” posts. Enjoy! 

Favorites

Below are some of the posts that have mattered the most to me over the course of nearly 11 years of airing my thoughts about the technical writing business.

Everything I Needed to Know About Technical Writing I Learned from Reading Science Fiction (September 2011) – This isn’t the literal truth, but SF did help me with how I think about approaching new topics. Which reminds me…

How Do You Approach a New Topic? (November 2011) – This post provides the most practical advice I can think of to help you organize an article or large document covering a large, complex topic.

Thoughts for My Younger Readers (April 2021) – This post was actually aimed at my niece and nephew (Gen Z kids), but it can also apply to readers younger than me (and there do seem to be more and more of you every year.

Buy My Book! (August 2020) – Okay, the post is not a piece of literary art, but it does represent the culmination of several years of effort to publish something worthwhile. If you find the wisdom dispensed here to be valuable, you might consider acquire a copy of my book as a handy paperback or Kindle reference.

Marketing Language in Proposal Writing (February 2015) and Getting to the Heart of the Matter in a Technical Proposal (August 2015) – These are directed at those of you who write proposals–tech writers or engineers. The primary point is that you don’t just describe the widget and expect to win–you have to explain why your widget is better!

Writing for NASA (Ongoing) – I set up this page to compile all of the advice I’ve written for those of you who want to work in the space business. “NASA” is just shorthand for everything from NASA to the commercial space business to space scientists. Bottom line: it is possible for English majors to work for space geeks, but you have to take the time to learn the language!

Is Self-Employment for You? (April 2015) and Freelancing: A Great Life or Not? (July 2018) – I’ve been freelancing since 2014. These are just two of many articles I’ve written about the freelancing life and some of the benefits and downsides thereof. It’s not for everyone.

Skill Sets for Freelance Writing (December 2017) and Universal Skills (January 2018) – I like these posts because they talk about some of the critical people skills you need to function well as a freelance writer or really in any profession.

Most Popular

Just because I think something’s important doesn’t mean others do. Contrariwise, there are posts that I write that are just part of the regular content mix but turn out to be wildly popular (at least for this blog). Below are the “top ten” based on readership.

1. Vertical, Horizontal, and Matrixed Organizations (And Why You Should Care) (September 2014)
2. Large, Medium, or Small: What’s Your Best Working Environment? (November 2011)
3. Characteristics of Formal and Informal Writing (March 2018)
4. Writing for NASA (Ongoing)
5. “Bring Me a Rock” (March 2012)
6. How an English Major Got a Job at NASA (September 2011)
7. Can I Be a Technical Writer Without a Technical Writing Degree? (August 2018)
8. Basic Ethics for the Technical Communicator (June 2012)
9. Vertical Integration vs. Horizontal Integration (April 2017)
10. Last-Minute Requests (January 2018)

Happy reading, all! I’m happy to be of service here, and I will continue to answer questions and “take requests” for posts about specific topics. No, really!

Have a great weekend, all!

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