Big Proposal Production vs. Small Proposals

Posted on October 31, 2019 by

This past week or two, I’ve been supporting two different proposal efforts: one is large, with multiple partners and lots of pages; the other is for a small business pursuing a single task order under an already-existing Broad Area Announcement (BAA). The activities and responsibilities differ a great deal just by the sheer scale of the projects. Today I’ll take some time to talk about those differences–they can affect how the individual technical writer contributes and works. Continue reading →

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Levels of Editing and When You Need Them

Posted on October 28, 2019 by

Technical writers and editors have their own nuances to their work, which are not always understood or appreciated by others. One type of nuance is the “level of edit” you’re applying to a document. Generally there are three levels of editing, and it helps to clarify with your customer what they want before you start. Continue reading →

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Balancing Client Needs on Travel

Posted on October 24, 2019 by

Just because you’re on travel to support one client doesn’t mean you can put other clients on hold. I had this challenge recently, but the good news is that it’s resolvable with a little diplomacy and time management. Continue reading →

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Hobbies and the Happy Tech Writer

Posted on October 21, 2019 by

As I noted recently, I recently took up volunteering with the local community theater in Southwest Orange County–a broad area north of Walt Disney World called Horizon West.  I haven’t done theater since high school, but I found myself really enjoying myself. And while I have a rather unfortunate habit of workaholism, this turned out to be an ideal break. Do you have a hobby? If not, it’s worth considering. Continue reading →

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Stage Props and Usability

Posted on October 17, 2019 by

Recently I was working on the prop committee for a local production of The Music Man. This served as a nice break from my usual reading-and-writing-heavy free time activities, but it also provided a few lessons in usability that I thought I’d share here. Continue reading →

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