Dear Santa, I have been very very good. Please ask my boss for a copy of my job performance review for fiscal 2011 if you don't believe me. Per the terms of the Santa-Petitioner_In_Good_Standing contract, please send me the following items/services... Read more of this technical writing article »
The Perfect Tech Writer’s Letter to Santa
Dear Santa, First, let me thank you in advance for what I’m sure will be prompt delivery. I understand how important it is to be clear about expectations no matter how difficult the challenge, so let me start there. What I want for Christmas is peace, love, and understanding. I feel that last year’s requests went unanswered because I was vague and no one’s going to say I don’t learn from my mistakes. (No one besides my cat, anyway.) Let me explain what I mean. Read more of this technical writing article »
Holiday Negotiations
The Tech Writer Curmudgeon wants to negotiate some wishes for the season. Dear Santa, While I know that our counsels have advised both of us to cease communications, and that the final resolution stated that we “agreed” that the squirrels and wind could have caused some of the damage to my roof, the “poo” I [...] Read more of this technical writing article »
The Technical Writer’s Short Christmas List
Whirler Melinda Anderson may actually subscribe to the minimalist school of Santa letter writing. Short, comprehensive, to the point. Santa All I want for Christmas Adobe Cloud available at the office where I work. Creative suite 5.5 upgrade for CS3/CS4 Windows XP for my computer at home. This is so I can do some e-publishing [...] Read more of this technical writing article »
What I Really Want for Christmas
Greg Larson has a list that he maintains throughout the year, and it always includes one outrageous, extremely unlikely, but really cool request… can you figure out which item it is? The last of the autumn leaves, dried and shriveled, rattle in a cold north breeze and Christmas whispers back from the near-future. Inside, warm [...] Read more of this technical writing article »
Letter to St.Nick
I don't usually want a lot of presents for Christmas. Now that I've been a tech writer for a good few months, though, I have come up with more of a list than usual. I really hope to see some of these under the tree this year. First, I'd like an organization that exempts me from meetings. Read more of this technical writing article »
Dear Santa, My Christmas Wish
In 1998, you left a [submarine simulation] video game under my tree called 688i Hunter/Killer. I’ve always considered this to be one of the best games I’ve ever played, so thanks Santa for that really great present. One thing that made this game so great was that it came with extremely comprehensive documentation. I know your technical writing elves worked really hard on it... Read more of this technical writing article »
Deadline from Hell
Tech Writer Halloween Horror Stories: As my manager, Diane, was passing by on a Monday morning, she stuck her head in my cube to ask if I would document an interface. I said sure, remembering to ask who my point of contact was. She replied, “I am. I’ll send you the info.” Read more of this technical writing article »
The Computer Graveyard, Part II – The Conclusion
Tech Writer Halloween Horror Stories: I wasn't waking up, and my hands trembled and my heart pounded despite the best efforts of the coffee. When the service ended, the robot and his followers passed among the dormant computers. As they came to each member of the horde, they sprinkled anti-static liquid across the waiting computer, then set about disassembling the patiently waiting machine. As they did, the lesser robots that followed in their wake whisked covers off trays to reveal row upon row of neatly stacked chips, tiny metal legs pointed at the ceiling like so many dead insects. Read more of this technical writing article »