Writing Life
Survey: British Office Workers Hate Business Speak
If you’re miffed to hear hackneyed expressions like “think outside the box” you’re not alone: a lot of office workers in Britain reported they also can’t stand the expression, according to a British survey of 2,000 cubicle dwellers. Tweny five percent of those surveyed ranked “blue sky thinking” and “hit the ground running” as number…
Read MoreOccupational Outlook for Technical Writers: My Opinions and the Facts
From time to time I hear from technical writers who had their own share from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 30s. There is no doubt, the market right now is not as good as it had been just four or five years earlier. But I still have reasons to maintain…
Read MoreTechnical Writing: Corporate Payroll or Freelancing?
Should you choose freelancing or go on a corporate payroll to work as a technical communicator? I get this question from my readers on a more or less regular basis: “Should I quit my company and set up shop as an independent entrepreneur offering technical writing services? Should I just launch a web site and…
Read MoreHow to Tolerate Ambiguity in Technical Writing and Keep Anxiety Under Control
© Ugur Akinci Technical communicators need to have a healthy capacity to tolerate ambiguity; not permanently throughout a project, but during certain phases of it. William Goldman, the award-winning screenplay writer and filmmaker, is famous for describing Hollywood as a place where “nobody knows anything.” And he meant it. The situation is not that bad…
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How to Prevent Compounding Editing Errors While Copy Editing a Long Technical Document
Introduction Editing errors are an important issue in all types of writing. There are some tips and techniques in technical communication that do not make much sense unless you’ve been a technical writer for a long time and you’ve seen the same issues arising over and over again. One such technical writing issue is the…
Read More"Manual Writer," "Technical Writer" or "Technical Communicator" — What’s in a title?
A reader asked the other day if it’s okay for his customer to address him as a “manual writer.” “Is this really a big deal?” he asked. My short answer is — yes, it is a big deal and of course it matters, for more reasons than one. First off, “manual writer” is not correct…
Read MoreShould You Always Write to Communicate? How About Good'Old "Talking"?
© Ugur Akinci OK, I admit the irony upfront: this is a written argument about talking 🙂 But given my daily workload, I unfortunately still don’t have the time to create well-produced videos. So writing is still the quickest way for me to put an idea across. Yet, this is an important issue that also explains…
Read MoreIndoition Honors TCC as a "Top 50 Blog" in Technical Communications
Recognition is always nice. We all do what we do because we’re fascinated with the topic. We love it. Chances are we’d continue doing it even if nobody was aware of it. But still… we’re all human. And a little recognition does not hurt either 🙂 We are happy and proud to share with you…
Read MoreA Great New Career for Nurses – Medical Writing and Illustration
There is now a great career for Nurses — medical writing and illustration. Say you’re a nurse. An RN. A highly-trained and capable health care professional. And again, say you’re a bit sick and tired of the hustle and bustle of a hospital… Yes, the pay is good but there are nerve wrecking responsibilities. You’re…
Read MoreA Great FREE Online Typing Program to Improve Your Personal Productivity
© 2011 Ugur Akinci If you need to improve your typing skills by learning how to type 10-fingers here is a great free online program: http://www.sense-lang.org If you know other online typing programs, feel free to share it by commenting. Many thanks in advance!
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