Writing

Richard “Dick” Marcinko knows something about making—and breaking—rules. He is perhaps best known as the creator of SEAL Team Six, the elite counterterrorist team that killed the terrorist Osama bin Laden in 2011. (Marcinko had long retired from the Navy…
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We all need editors. Even Founding Fathers like Thomas Jefferson. In 1776, delegates met in Philadelphia to debate and decide whether to declare the 13 colonies they represented as being independent of Great Britain. Jefferson, who was from Virginia, was charged to…
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June 13 was an anniversary of sorts for me. It was on that date last year when I began this blog. This is not so much a pat on the back as it is a reflection on lessons learned. There’s…
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You’ve written your document. Now it’s time for others to review it. What things should your reviewers be looking for? The seven most common questions about editing checklists and their answers are. 1. What is an editing checklist? An editing checklist…
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Writing and publishing an e-book is so easy today, literally anyone could do it—and they do. First-time authors are publishing and selling their work, positioning themselves in the marketplace. Books that have been out of print are coming back as…
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When writing a document, you can either send it out for review, solicit feedback, and expect everyone on the team to return their comments to you by a given time. A documentation review meeting, however, gives everyone a chance to…
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Written instructions show people how to perform a given task or tasks. Consider these tips when preparing your written instructions. 1. Assume nothing about your readers. Once I was preparing a manual for a new product in which I needed…
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