Technical Writer

I’m back from the AODC. Exhausted, but stimulated.  Here’s a smattering of thoughts, notes and other things, in no particular order.

• There are a lot of lone tech writers out there. Conferences like this are fantastic, because you realise that other people have the same problems as you do—access to SMEs, other people in the company not understanding what you do, always being put off until the last minute on projects
• It’s the best place to network. Even if you’re an introvert it doesn’t matter. (Many of us are.) You sit at communal tables at lunch time, and you stand around in groups at breaks. All you have to do is listen to other people talk if you haven’t the courage to join in. By the end of the last day you will have talked to a few people, believe me
• Talk to other attendees about your problems with tools, projects, experiences. They may be able to help; and they, of all people, will understand what you are going through
• If you’re a newbie, and you have only ever used, say, Word, for your tech writing, don’t worry, and don’t be put off by the fact that everyone’s talking about DITA, and XML/XSLT and embedded user assistance. It overwhelms you at first but by the end of three days you’re starting to get a feel for a much bigger tech writing field out there than just Word, and you’re in the right place to learn about it.

Tools and buzz words

• XML is still the way of the future
• Ditto CSS
• We’re all trying to go modular, when we can
• XML schemas are important. DITA and DocBook are the two mentioned, with most of it being about DITA
• Classic .CHM files help is still around but web-based help is, and has been for a number of years now, but really web-based help and embedded user assistance is the way to go
• Video capture programs like Captivate and Camtasia seem to now be a part of the tech writer’s toolbox
• RoboHelp and Flare got mentioned a lot
• Web 2.0

Final comments

• Half the attendees were male. I could be wrong, but I think that when I started going to these conferences it was roughly 80/20 women to men
• May is a really nice time to visit the Gold Coast.  The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, and the beaches were glorious (and the food wasn’t bad either)
• Tech writers are a great bunch of people.

Last Modified : May 18th, 2008
Filed under : Tech Writer
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