Category Archives: documentation

Reader Response: Structuring Complex Instructions

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Bart Leahy

Today’s post is a response to an instructor friend’s response to my call for topics (Reminder: I’ll take them from strangers, too!). Jane’s initial question was: “Do you have anything on there on how to structure complex sets of instructions?” … Continue reading →

Posted in business writing, documentation, documents, instructional design | Leave a comment

In Case of Emergency

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Bart Leahy

I had a scare recently with my parents (potentially) having the COVID virus. Bonus Mom was in the hospital and Dad I had to keep an eye on. While it turned out to be a false alarm, it got me … Continue reading →

Posted in documentation, personal, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Read the Frickin’ Manual…Carefully

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Bart Leahy

When a man reaches a certain age, he is encouraged by his doctor to get an exam that requires a camera inserted in his backside to check for prostate cancer, among other things. Alas, I’ve reached that age. There are … Continue reading →

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Are You Really Doing “Heroic” Technical Writing?

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Bart Leahy

It occurs to me as I get older that I’ve made my career doing rather boring, out-of-the-way, bureaucratic work: answering complaint letters, developing internal training programs, developing spreadsheets, writing proposals, editing engineering reports, and so forth. None of those are … Continue reading →

Posted in business writing, careers, documentation, editing, freelancing, personal, philosophy | 2 Comments

It’s Getting Kind of Haptic: Technical Writing in the Age of Tactile Interfaces

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Bart Leahy

Recently I went to the Secrets of the Empire virtual reality (VR) experience (you can read about that here). It was a game environment mixing VR and physical elements. While there was a brief script introducing this team-based, first-person-shooter game, for … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, documentation, science fiction, technical writing, Technology | 1 Comment