I'd Rather Be Writing Podcast
Topics and issues for technical writers. Improve your technical communication role. Empower users with better documentation.
- Update frequency
- every 22 days
- Average duration
- 41 minutes
- Episodes
- 323
- Years Active
- 2006 - 2025
Recording for Menlo Park API documentation workshop now available -- and some thoughts on using cardioid versus omnidirectional microphones for recording
The recording for the full-day API workshop that I recently gave in Menlo Park, California, is now available. This recording provides more than 5 hours of instruction about writing API docs -- for fr…
00:11:05 |
Tue 04 Dec 2018
New post in Simplifying Complexity series -- Principle 11: Be both a generalist and specialist at the same time
In my Simplifying Complexity series, I added a new post called, Principle 11: Be both a generalist and specialist at the same time. I also recorded this essay as a narrated podcast.
01:02:10 |
Fri 30 Nov 2018
How to avoid being a secretary for engineers
If we just see our task as documenting solutions that engineers have solved, it removes the creativity and critical thinking dimension from tech comm. The creative dimension in tech comm comes into p…
00:27:16 |
Mon 19 Nov 2018
Upcoming full-day API documentation workshop in Menlo Park
I'm giving a full-day API documentation workshop on Nov 8, 2018, in Menlo Park, California, in coordination with Scott Abel (aka, The Content Wrangler). There are still a few open spots left in the w…
00:01:08 |
Wed 31 Oct 2018
Preferring technical acuity over specialized knowledge
In the debate between being a specialist or generalist, there's also a third option: developing <i>technical acuity</i>. A person with a high degree of technical acuity has the technical mindset need…
00:13:07 |
Wed 24 Oct 2018
If writing is no longer a marketable skill, what is?
When we try to sell our tech comm skills, promoting our <i>writing</i> skills doesn't seem to impress people anymore, as writing is considered more of a presumed skill everyone has. To give a sense o…
00:25:35 |
Thu 09 Aug 2018
My conflicted thoughts about the decentralized web (while taking the Census of Technical Communicators survey)
Seeing my name in the Census of Technical Communicators survey as a possible source for professional development made me think about the impact of blogs as a learning resource. Advertising encourages…
00:24:44 |
Mon 06 Aug 2018
Articulating stories that influence product adoption (new article in Simplifying Complexity series)
I added a new article in my ongoing series about simplifying complexity. The article is called <i>Articulating the invisible stories that influence product adoption or rejection</i> and explores why …
00:43:19 |
Tue 31 Jul 2018
The relationship between academics and practitioners -- Podcast with Kirk St. Amant
In this podcast, I chat with Professor <a href='#kirk_st_amant'>Kirk St. Amant</a> about the relationship between practitioners and academics. Kirk recently co-authored an article about research as a…
00:56:22 |
Wed 11 Jul 2018
Reducing the complexity of technical language (new article in Simplifying Complexity series)
I added a new article in my ongoing series about simplifying complexity. The article is called <i>Reducing the complexity of technical language</i> and explores reasons why the language in technical …
00:43:29 |
Wed 11 Jul 2018
Evaluating the user experience of documentation -- Podcast with Bob Watson
This week I chatted with <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/docsbydesign/'>Bob Watson</a>, an assistant professor of tech comm at <a href='https://engineering.mercer.edu/academics/undergraduate/tec…
00:58:19 |
Mon 18 Jun 2018
Recording of API documentation workshop in Denver
I recently gave a half-day API workshop in Denver on March 10, 2018. Topics in the workshop included how to document reference API content (endpoints, parameters, requests, etc.), what non-reference …
03:51:12 |
Mon 12 Mar 2018
Recording of STC San Francisco presentation: Beyond mere endpoint reference — the overlooked content in API documentation
I recently gave a presentation to the STC San Francisco chapter called "Beyond mere endpoint reference — the overlooked content in API documentation" on February 21, 2018. You can browse the slides a…
00:59:49 |
Thu 08 Mar 2018
Recording of OpenAPI and Swagger presentation (for STC and WTD San Diego)
I recently gave a presentation to the STC San Diego chapter and WTD San Diego group called "Swagger UI and the OpenAPI specification" (February 13, 2018). You can view a recording of the presentation…
01:01:44 |
Wed 14 Feb 2018
Recording of WTD South Bay presentation: Publishing tools for API documentation
I recently gave a presentation called "Publishing tools for API documentation" to the Write the Docs South Bay meetup group on January 18, 2018. You can view a recording of the presentation, browse t…
01:05:21 |
Fri 19 Jan 2018
How to become a voracious reader
Voracious reading begins with voracious thinking. Asking questions gives us a purpose and drive for reading.
00:06:58 |
Fri 01 Dec 2017
How do you communicate user progress in a course without a Learning Management System (LMS)?
When you don't have a system that logs users in and tracks their progress, it can be a challenge to show their progress in a course. However, rather than showing progress through completed pages, qui…
00:14:21 |
Tue 28 Nov 2017
Intro to API Documentation -- recording of presentation to STC Silicon Valley chapter on 11/20/2017
I recently gave a presentation titled "Introduction to API Documentation" to the STC Silicon Valley chapter in Santa Clara, California. The video recording and audio are available here.
01:05:04 |
Sun 19 Nov 2017
SwaggerHub: A collaborative platform for working on OpenAPI/Swagger specification files, and more
When documenting REST APIs, the OpenAPI specification (formerly called Swagger) is pretty much the default standard. Yet learning the OpenAPI spec is not a trivial undertaking and requires significan…
00:16:47 |
Thu 05 Oct 2017
Has plain language deepened or ruined our delight in language?
Although technical writers champion plain language, embracing plain language for many years can cripple your ability to use more eloquent language, like that of a literary author or essayist. There i…
00:18:07 |
Wed 20 Sep 2017
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