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What Strategies Can Technical Writers Use to Cope with Stress?

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In Part One of this article, we defined stress as occurring when we perceive outside demands as being greater than our resources to cope. We noted that an informal poll conducted on the TECHWR-L site and ratings in the Jobs Rated Almanac indicated that technical writers in general experience a moderate to medium level of stress in their work environment. Part Two offers some practical suggestions for increasing your ability to cope with each of these categories of stressors. Read more of this technical writing article »

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What Do Technical Writers Find Stressful?

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Editor’s Note: The following piece by Warren Singer is part of our collection of “classics”–articles that stand the test of time no matter how many technologies come and go. We thought ten years would be a good mile marker to see if the things that stressed us in 2001 have changed. We invite you to have a read and then take part our "anniversary poll." Read more of this technical writing article »

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Tips & Tricks: Staying Productive-and Sane-when Working in Isolation

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Your hands are cramping up and iTunes won’t update. You’ve been sitting too long. You’re a lone tech writer hammering out documentation. Deadlines are approaching. You sent out a rough first draft last month, and heard…nothing. Are your docs are so bad that mysterious forces are scouring Google to find new words to describe your [...] Read more of this technical writing article »

Getting Contractors Up to Speed Quickly

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Editor’s Note: The following piece by Miki Magyar is part of our collection of “classics”–articles that stand the test of time no matter how many technologies come and go. It is a great checklist for onboarding contractors and for contractors getting ready for the next gig. Our current plan is to have a 3-ring binder and [...] Read more of this technical writing article »

Establishing and Building Mutual Respect with Technical Team Members

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As a technical writer, are you finding yourself wishing for just a bit of respect from the engineers, SMEs (Subject Matter Experts), or other technical people you work with? Are you finding that these folks seem to stonewall you on every question you have or every goal you’re trying to achieve? Are they obstreperous? Difficult? [...] Read more of this technical writing article »

Updating Copyright Notices

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Question: I recently updated some written materials in a manual I’m producing, and I’m not sure whether to update the copyright date, too. Currently, the copyright notice in the manual says “1998.” Should I change it to “2000″ or just leave it alone? Does it really matter? Copyright notices are one of the easiest things [...] Read more of this technical writing article »

Understanding Business Communication Copyright Laws

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Question: What are the copyright laws regarding business letters and other forms of communication? Some members of a copyediting-related discussion list have asked the question, “Who owns the copyright (as opposed to owning the letter)?” And how does this relate to e-mail? For some reason, there is a common misconception that correspondence and other forms [...] Read more of this technical writing article »

Avoiding Repetitive-stress Injuries: A Guide for Technical Communicators

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Much though I love my computer, I’m aware of its drawbacks. One serious problem is the risk of so-called “repetitive-stress injury” (RSI)–simplistically, any injury that results from overuse of a body part without giving it time to recover. In fact, “overuse injury” is probably a more immediately obvious term, and given how much time many [...] Read more of this technical writing article »