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Data states, writing illuminates

Writing, better working, and tool design

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    Writers block at work? Learn from tech authors’ struggles and successes.

    In a recent survey, 69 tech writers said they often experience “blocked” periods of time when it’s difficult to write.

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    Featured

    Could more words help your presentations? (video)

    Slides often seem to collect undigested information. Could sentence headers help? Sentences require verbs, which force us to say something

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    2020-12-29 Effective writing tells a story / Oh, the productivity

    For insights at work, hold your nerve and pay attention (long read)

    By paying more attention to important signals, we can understand them better, and glimpse their unsaid meanings too. But we’ll have to slow down – to hold our nerve like a value investor, or patiently wait as if with a passive index.

    2021-05-31 Oh, the productivity

    How writing straightens out your decision frame (video)

    It seems that writing our rationale for a decision helps us make that decision objectively. What evidence is there for

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    2021-05-17 Oh, the productivity

    How does the framing effect warp our business decisions? (video)

    The way that options are presented shapes the choice we make. Even insurance professionals take more or less risk depending on the way a situation is framed. Is there a way to make more grounded decisions?

    2020-08-03 Oh, the productivity

    Take notes as online help for your creative future self

    What do you do with your new ideas? The connections and sparks that pop to mind when you’re in the shower; in a presentation; on a bus.

    2020-05-17 Effective writing tells a story

    You’ve been had. The passive voice was never bad.

    “Avoid it”, the style guides write, “unless you really know what you are doing”. The implication is you don’t.

    2020-05-10 Templates & tags help authors

    Minor Semantics

    Microsoft Word now puts its wiggly line under two spaces in a row. A lot of people are happy, and I’m happy that they’re happy, because maybe “semantic authoring” in a small sense is taking root.

    2017-12-04 Aboutness first, format second

    Modern metadata through a DITA lens

    Modern ways of using metadata connect groups, countries, and organizations. Structured content such as DITA XML provides powerful ways to work with this metadata, but also challenges.

    2017-09-28 Effective writing tells a story

    Why “Minimalism” doesn’t mean “plain writing”

    John Carroll’s sound instructional principles became known as Minimalism — a term that would frequently be mistaken for the idea of just writing less.

    2017-08-27 Oh, the productivity

    How to get (at least some) work done

    When I need to get a particular piece of writing or other work done, and I’m putting it off because it’s difficult (or I’m making it difficult), I’ve found that this simple process helps a lot.

    2017-07-21 Aboutness first, format second

    Structured Content Meets Taxonomy: Webinar Recording

    “For truly futureproof content, we need to write well, use structural markers, and associate our chunks of information with external data.”

    Recording of a joint webinar with PoolParty’s Andreas Blumauer.

    2016-11-26 Templates & tags help authors

    Managing XML in Git or Mercurial? Watch out for your merges

    Using line-based diff and merge tools can result in invalid files or missing content. XML-aware merge tools avoid these problems.

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