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Monthly Archives: August 2010

On Document Styles: How to Use Section Breaks in Microsoft Word

Tweet I spent yesterday explaining why technical writers use text columns, providing some specific examples along the way. What I didn’t provide was any kind of instructions. I hope to remedy that today. I’m going to walk you through the basics of setting up columns in Microsoft Word. Setting Up a Columned Layout The easiest […]

On Document Style: Text Columns

Tweet Yesterday’s story about carving out the blackberry bush, while carefully leaving load-bearing columns in the heart of it, would make for an excellent post on document structure. Wouldn’t it? Maybe I’ll have to tell it again sometime when you’re not looking…. Today I want to talk about a different type of columns, though: text […]

On Document Style: Building Forts

Tweet I’ve used today’s photo before, but it’s so adorable I just had to drag it out again. That’s not the only reason, of course. It’s also incredibly appropriate to the story I want to tell. I don’t know if it’s readily apparent in that image, but we were building a fort in that photo. […]

On Visual Storytelling: How to Write a Visual Scene

Tweet With all these posts lately on writing rules, I’m becoming quite the party pooper, aren’t I? That’s no fun. My goal isn’t to limit you as a writer, though — it’s to help you grow as a storyteller. Yesterday’s discussion of late attribution and flickering perspective was meant to help you spot the really […]

On Visual Storytelling: The Camera Lies

Tweet Yesterday I told a story about a high school ski trip that ended with a Goofy-esque pratfall on the slopes at Aspen, Colorado. It was one of those moments too perfect to believe, and I’ve cherished it in my memory ever since. A couple years ago I got to relive the experience when Dad […]

On Visual Storytelling: Aspen Extreme

Tweet Hmm…I really need to tell the story of the time I played Little League baseball. That’s not today’s tale, but it’s one worth telling. Suffice it to say, for now, that it ended catastrophically, and that at the tender age of six or seven, the end was enough to obliterate any interest in team […]

WIHTLAWriTWe…from You

It’s your turn! Get into the commenting action and treat us to a writing tidbit you’ve picked up recently. Tell us the tale of writing battles past, whether you fought and won or fought and learned…

On Text Editing: How to Modify HTML and CSS in EditPad Pro

Tweet Yesterday I took some time to try to tell you what’s so great about the humble text editor. Or, more to the point, what it has to offer us as writers. There’s a trick I mentioned in passing, and I feel like I should bring it up again just to make sure you pick […]

On Text Editing: Getting to Know Your Notepad

Tweet I started this series with a story about the time I color-coded myself, and some poetic language about the value of color-coding in a text editor. I also mentioned “Notepad” as a text editor, but that was probably unnecessarily misleading. I’m not talking about Microsoft’s built-in Notepad tool, here. I’m not even talking about […]

On Text Editing: My Colors

Tweet I grew up surrounded by books. Despite my mom’s best efforts to find room for critical necessities like furniture and open doorways, my dad has managed to pack an amazing number of books into every livingspace he’s ever called home. For eighteen years, those included mine. And for many of those years, I considered […]