The Rough Draft is the official newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, Phoenix Chapter community. The newsletter provides news about chapter events, members, and publishes members’ opinions about technical communication topics. Beginning in 2009, the Rough Draft became a blog.

Newsletter staff

» Managing Editor: Gloria McConnell

» Contributing Editor: Karen Zorn

» Reviewers: Chanda Child and Susan Katz

Submitting content

We invite readers to submit articles on subjects of interest to Chapter and Society members.

To add a blog article on our site, follow the instructions in at http://www.stc-phoenix.com/wp-manuals/how-to-blog-quick-start.pdf. Tag the article with the Rough Draft and next issue date categories. For details, contact newsletter@stc-phoenix.com.

If you do not want to add a blog article, we will accept articles submitted as e-mail, or files in plain text, Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or HTML format (such as from Microsoft FrontPage or Adobe Dreamweaver).

The Rough Draft staff reserves the right to edit articles for clarity and length, or to reject submissions judged unfit for publication. We try to review substantive editing of feature articles with the author before publication. Our style guide is the Chicago Manual of Style.

Newsletter mailing addresses

E-Mail: newsletter@stc-phoenix.come

U.S. Mail:
Gloria McConnell, Managing Editor
851 S. Arroyo Dr.
Prescott, AZ 86303

Reprinting articles

Authors: By submitting original material, you license this newsletter to use it and other STC publications to reprint it without permission.

Also see “Copyrights” for information on submitting others’ works or your works to other publications.

Other publications: If you reprint an article from the Rough Draft, please credit this newsletter as the source and send the Managing Editor a copy of the reprint or the URL of the Web page where the article was re-published.

Copyrights

The layout and design of this newsletter are the copyrighted work of the Society for Technical Communication. Copyrights for all newsletter articles belong to the authors.

Phoenix chapter mission statement

As a world-class educational and informational forum, we discuss cutting-edge concepts and technology, encourage sharing information among members, and sponsor top-quality seminars and conferences. We give our members the opportunity to grow professionally and be creative; to develop leadership, management, and other skills; to be recognized for their outstanding skills and service; to be the most soughtafter employees in our field; and to attain international status as Society-level leaders. We provide a fun and friendly, high-energy environment that fosters associations and friendships. We promote the value of technical communication and communication in general.

by Gloria McConnell, Rough Draft Managing Editor

Some of us are or have been freelance writing consultants; others (most technical communicators, I suspect) have simply thought about it.

Consultants own their own business and form a vendor-client relationship with each client. Take a look at this YouTube video for a humorous (yet painful) look at how some clients try to treat their consultants:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY. If you aren’t up to sticking to your guns on fees and services, you may want to think twice about freelance consulting.

If you are seriously considering a freelance business, check the STC Consulting and Independent Contractors SIG. Many sites exist to support the entrepreneur or small business, including the American Small Business online magazine. See their article, How to Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business.

Don’t forget that the Small Business Administration and SCORE (Senior Corps of Retired Executives) offer a wealth of information and assistance.

Best of luck to those of you who decide to “go for it”!

by Ms. Grammar

Who knows how various terms originate.  A “comma splice” in English grammar is the joining of two independent clauses with a comma, such as:  The release date has changed, we now have two more weeks for development. 

In most instances, comma splices should not be used. Some exceptions do exist – for example, comma splices may be acceptable if the clauses are short and alike in form. For a good discussion of  exceptions, see Tina Blue’s article, “When is a Comma Splice NOT an Error?”

Following are some solutions for pesky comma splices:

1. Make each clause a separate sentence: The release date has changed. We now have two more weeks for development.
2. Use a semicolon or dash: The release date has changed; we now have two more weeks for development.
3. Use a coordinating conjunction: The release date has changed, and we now have two more weeks for development.
4. Make one clause dependent on the other:  Because the release date has changed, we now have two more weeks for development.

Test yourself

1. The circuit board failed, the system crashed.
2. The first step is required, the second step is optional.
3. Model A is available, Model B is back-ordered.
4. He introduced the new product, it will be released in one month.
5. She will submit the draft for review, the test team must test all procedures.

Possible solutions

1. When the circuit board failed, the system crashed.
2. The first step is required, but the second step is optional.
3. Model A is available, Model B is back-ordered. (An acceptable exception - short independent clauses expressing contrast.)
4. He introduced the new product. It will be released in one month.
5. She will submit the draft for review; the test team must test all procedures.

Dear STC Phoenix members,

When I began volunteering in a second-grade classroom at Wilson Primary School in Phoenix last fall, I asked the teacher what things she might need for the classroom. Her immediate response for the top of her “wish list” was a copy of The Scholastic Children’s Encyclopedia. She went on to explain that the AIMS test requires that students use a reference tool to look up a piece of information; however, her classroom had no reference books to use, nor was there money in the school budget for purchasing any. In the scheme of budget shortfalls and school-room crises, this situation was not earth-shattering. It did, however, strike me as really unfair!

Over the next few weeks, I began to remember what it was like to be a new reader. Dr. Seuss, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Little Critters became my friends again. Fairy tales forgotten became new. I remembered how much reading books about exotic places and far-away-peoples (both fact and fiction) can create magic in a child’s world. Best of all, a little girl named after an Egyptian goddess touched my heart. (I can’t use her name here, but I can tell you about her bright eyes and smile as we read together each week!)

I was convinced that one encyclopedia was not enough! Each student needed one of these big, fat, glossy books full of pictures and important knowledge! These experiences converged one day as I realized how many of my family and STC friends share the same love of reading AND that an encyclopedia is a special kind of “technical communication.”  What a perfect opportunity!

Chapter leadership heartily agreed to adopt the project as a community service activity. Contributions of books and monies from STC Phoenix chapter members, friends, and family began rolling in. Soon there were 26 books – one for each child and one for the teacher!

I was bursting to tell the teacher, but managed to keep the project a secret from her until the day of delivery. As I arrived for my weekly reading session, I gave her one book. She seemed pleased and said “Thank you!” Then I told her there were 25 more books waiting for her in the car.  Her mouth literally dropped open! She looked at me for a moment and then exclaimed, “CAN I HUG YOU?!” I said yes and gladly returned the hug! A short time later, we were in the parking lot with a line of 20-odd students who had lined up to take a book from my trunk. Each one of them met me with bright, shining eyes and a big “thank you.” Many kids were “wowed” by the heft of the book. Most hugged it tightly to their chests as they returned to their place in line. It was a day I’ll always remember!  I wish you could have been there, too!

Thanks to each of you who contributed to this effort.  One student’s thank you note is presented below for your enjoyment.

With sincere appreciation,
Dana Osborne

P.S.  If you’re interested in volunteering at a school near you, I encourage you to do so. It will make a difference in your life and in the life of a child. If you need help finding a volunteer opportunity, check out http://handsonphoenix.org/.

For those who revel in words, check these sites:

» Save the Words  - The Oxford English Dictionary wants you to adopt a word in danger of extinction. (Note: this page may take a while to load. Be patient – it’s worth it! And make sure your sound is on.) How about frenigerent… veprecose… buccellation?

» Compendium of Lost Words - If you need the definition for your adopted word, but don’t subscribe to the Oxford English Dictionary, try this compendium.  

» The Language Monitor - Did you know that the English language now contains over 1 million words and terms? Yep – “Web 2.0″ became word no. 1,000,000 on June 10, 2009.

» The Verbing of America - If you are tired of words like “incentivize,” “consumerize,” or “you-name-it-ize,” and you like poems, see this humorous commentary.

About Our New Book

by Lorraine Kupka and Joy Underhill, NorthCoast Writers, Inc.

Here’s the step-by-step guide you’ve been waiting for, with the insider tips you need to find success with your Madcap Flare™ projects. This guide details how to plan your project—a crucial up-front step that can save you considerable time reformatting your output.

With Five Steps to MadCap Flare™ you’ll learn:

» How to use Flare’s XML Editor without understanding XML.

» Simple steps for building print and online documents—from the same topics!

» How to create print documents in PDF, Word, FrameMaker and other formats.

» Tips, tricks and best practices to use with any project … and more!

Five Steps to MadCap Flare is your ticket to the emerging world of topic-based authoring. Come on board, and see what you’ve been missing!

Last week, Adobe released a critic patch for Adobe Acrobat and Reader 9.1.1. and earlier additions. This patch addresses critical vulnerability flaws, and is strongly recommended for all Acrobat or Reader users.

See the Adobe bulletin for complete details.  

Now Download Trials of Popular Suites

Technical Communication Suite

A trial version of the Adobe Technical Communication Suite used to be available only on a DVD, due to the size of the software package. Now, a highly compressed file makes it available for download.

The Technical Communication Suite the following Adobe products: FrameMaker®, RoboHelp®, Captivate®, Photoshop, Acrobat® (Pro Extended), and Presenter (allows you to create Adobe Flash presentations and eLearning courses from PowerPoint).

Read about Tech. Comm. Suite  |  Download Tech. Comm. Suite trial

eLearning Suite

Also available now for download is the Adobe eLearning Suite, which includes the following Adobe products: Captivate®, Flash®,  Dreamweaver® with CourseBuilder Extension, Photoshop® (Extended), Adobe Acrobat®  (Pro), Presenter , and  Soundbooth®.

Read about eLearning Suite  |  Download eLearning Suite trial

Presented by Madcap Flare
Presenter: Mike Hamilton, VP MadCap Software
Date/time: June 25, 9-10 a.m. Pacific time
Cost: Free

This tools-neutral webinar will teach you how to specify and use fonts and font controls in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). (This is part two of a series on CSSs.) Register today!

The future of technical communication: where’s it all heading?

Presented by Cherryleaf and the TechComm Alliance
Presenter: Ellis Pratt
Date/time: July 9 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time
Cost: $20

Ellis will take a look at the future of technical writing and likely changes to the ways in which user assistance is delivered. Register today!

Designing and implementing embedded help

Presented by STC
Presenter: Nicky Bleiel
Date/time: July 15, 1 p.m. Eastern time
Cost: $79 (members)

Learn how to make the most of online Help by embedding it into your software application. Give users relevant information exactly when they need it.  STC Director and presenter Nicky Bleiel is currently at ComponentOne. She  has fifteen years experience as a technical communicator and has spoken at many major conferences. Register today!

Converting users from casual subscribers

Presented by STC
Presenter: Tom Johnson
Date/time: July 29, 1 p.m. Eastern time
Cost: $79 (members)

Learn how successful blogs turn casual readers devoted subscribers.  Presenter Tom Johnson is a senior technical writer with many online experiences. Register today!

STOP – Sequential Thematic Organization of Publications

Presented by Scriptorium
Presenter: Tony Self
Date/time: July 15, 5 p.m. Eastern time
Cost: $20

This approach was developed at Hughes Corporation in the 1960s to improve the speed of document production and to allow multiple authors to work simultaneously on the same document.

Learn how, despite its age, STOP might be re-applied even more effectively in the 21st Century. Register today!

Other Scriptorium webinars

» Converting Unstructured FrameMaker to DITA, July 18
» Converting Microsoft Word to DITA, August 13
» Getting Started with Reuse, September 17

Watch Scriptorium’s blog, Palimpsest for details.

Recorded webinars from Scriptorium

Cost: $20

Scriptorim offers two of their recent webinars for download:

» Hacking the DITA Open Toolkit - Customizing  the DITA Open Toolkit to produce HTML that meets your specifications.

» Documentation as Conversation – Creating documentation that helps customers talk to each other to learn and solve problems.

Order these and other recorded webinars at the Scriptorium store.

Next Year’s Challenge: Chapter Programs

With the state of the current economy, STC has had to find ways to take care of current Society budget deficits. STC has asked that local chapters also tighten their belts. That was the message from Karen Zorn, Phoenix chapter president, when I met with her and Maggie Haenel, last year’s program manager, in early May.

As the new program manager for the coming year, the challenge for me will be to provide value to members who attend the chapter program meetings and still keep chapter costs down.

What are some ways to do that?

» Presenters: We’ll continue to provide varied programs at our monthly dinner meetings, but will be tapping more regional and local experts. 

» Employment topics: For those of you who are currently unemployed, we are looking to provide more topics and services that address the issues you face.

» Virtual meetings: To help us keep costs down when we want to engage those speakers that are out of the southwest region, we plan to have one or more virtual meetings.

What can members do to help?

» Share your ideas concerning specific speakers, program subjects, or other venues, that you think will provide you with the value you are seeking from the chapter.

» Have dinner with your colleagues at chapter dinner meetings more often!  It’s an opportunity for you to network and it also allows us to fulfill our obligations to the hotel.

I look forward to hearing from you about next year’s programs. Feel free to comment using the chapter’s community blog at http://www.stc-phoenix.com/blog/ or by emailing me at programs@stc-phoenix.com.

Exploring Web Applications

by David Dick, Associate Fellow

From the Yahoo Home page (www.yahoo.com), I can see the weather for my area and the five-day forecast. I can check e-mail, send messages to friends, check the stock market, shop, and a whole lot more.  Google Maps allow me to search addresses and display maps that I can “zoom in” on to view details.  It’s all possible because of web applications.  I have noticed, however, that some web applications are better designed than others.  If Web 2.0 has any importance to you, you will appreciate the need for guidelines to create a satisfying user experience.  Until now, no guidelines to design web applications have existed.

Web Application Design Patterns by Pawan Vora provides practical user interface design guidance for developing web applications by offering a “working” starting point that designers can adapt and refine to develop creative solutions.  He combines best practice methods, research, and solid experience to create a useful reference about designing web applications.

Web Application Design Patterns covers design patterns as they are used in the following web application elements and functions:

»  Forms
»  User authentication
»  Main page
»  Navigation
»  Searching and filtering
»  Lists 

The rest of the book covers a wide variety of related topics with just the right amount of detail and examples, including:

»  Rich Internet Applications
»  Social applications
»  Internationalization
»  Accessibility
»  Visual design
»  Pattern creation (how to create pattern libraries)  

Each of the one hundred and twenty-two design patterns covered in this book are presented by name, the design problem(s) the pattern solves, the solution to the problem, the rationale for the design solution’s effectiveness, a list of best practices describing the application of the solution and possible variations, and related design patterns.

Unlike most books of this genre, Vora’s does not cover the history of the Internet and Web 2.0 as so many authors do.  Instead, the author describes the benefits and challenges of web applications, which prepared me to understand the rest of the book. 

I am impressed that Vora addressed the importance of including Help at all levels of interaction, internalization, and accessibility in sufficient detail, yet he leaves me the opportunity to research them in greater detail.  As a member of a society of technical communicators, I know that my colleagues will appreciate that somebody recognizes what they have been advocating for years.

I am not disappointed that the author does not compare and contrast the tools to create web applications.  To do so would ignite a debate of why one tool is better than another, and there are just too many tools on the market. 

Not finding a chapter dedicated to usability, I assumed that Vora did not consider usability important.  Then I took a harder look and what I found was even better — he explains characteristics that contribute to “good” design. 

The book is rich with examples of web applications.  Not only does Vora show examples of web applications of popular companies (such as Dell, Linkedin, Expedia, Adobe, and Netflix), he also shows web applications from lesser known companies (for example, Kayak, Wufoo, and Basecamp). How he found them is a mystery to me!

I was privileged to serve as a technical reviewer of this book.  When reviewing the first iteration of the manuscript, I brought it to work to show developers who were working on the user interface of forms and user authentication. They liked what they read and made the modifications as suggested.  I even learned how to customize my favorite web applications. 

Web Application Design Patterns is a must read if you want to understand how web applications work and why they work the way they do.

What if I told you that you could learn new skills on someone else’s dime, try out new ideas with a “client” who is just appreciative that you’re helping, and maybe even network yourself into a new job or a new direction in the process?

I won’t use the dirty “V” word to taint this conversation. Let’s just call it helping out, paying it forward, maybe even good karma. Works for me. I’ve been loaning my technical writing skills for free to a few nonprofit organizations over the last couple of years and, besides helping them with needed skills, I’ve received more benefits than I ever expected. I’ve learned how to adapt to new situations better, “to do more with less,” and to think like a guerilla fighter in the war on providing maximum content on a minimum budget.

And I’m not alone. Look a little closer at your local chapter, and you’ll see people who maintain dynamic websites, produce award-winning newsletters, coordinate educational programs, and organize some pretty great events—all on their own time and with no expectation of financial return.

Sharing communication skills

But let’s talk about sharing communication skills that are, at times, in short supply in the outside world. How many nonprofit groups could benefit from a few hours of your help in rewriting mission statements, program brochures, or event instruction materials for their staff?

Do you want to grow your skill set or offer yourself some variation from the same types of material you do day in/day out? How about creating a newsletter for your local community foundation or an informative website for a new cancer patient support group? Are you interested in history or science? Small museums are always in need of informative little brochures to help their visitors. They don’t need to be fancy, just well written.

How about doing something that impacts not just one or two, but hundreds or thousands of people?

A few years ago, tech writer Sam Poppas was simply helping out when the teacher at his son’s school asked him to speak at career day. Sam puts in his 40-plus hours a week and was content coming home and just dealing with family stuff, but he liked the idea of sharing his career with students. After his presentation, the principal asked if he could help out by writing a brief summary of a program the school was trying to get a grant for. Sam saw how disorganized they were and eventually took over the whole grant application, and the school won the funds. Sam commented that the feeling of elation over the success was unlike anything he’d felt at work for a long time. And without Sam’s help, they probably would not have gotten the grant.

The payoff

So, what sorts of projects might you be able to do? I’ve mentioned a few. Others I’ve personally helped with include editing, formatting, and publishing minibooks for a local historical society; collaborating with graphic designers on a downtown walking-tour guide; developing a video-based oral history program; and, my favorite, writing a book on local history for a mainstream publisher.

Did I get paid for any of this? Outside of the miniscule book royalty, nope. Nada. Did I learn new tools, have amazing control over projects, and feel like I impacted a whole bunch of people? You bet!

Sam said it well. “I picked up new skills that I was able to bring to my work environment and it’s made me a bit more valuable. And should something unfortunate happen to my job, I can move into grant writing to bring in some extra income.” (He’s already written a few more.)

Caveats

Let’s talk about the caveats, though. If you’ve volunteered for anything, you know there are too few people doing it and you will be called on for other unplanned roles. This is a great way to burn out on a relationship with a particular group as your workload increases.

Try very hard to limit the extra work you find yourself taking on to the tasks you really want to do. Try to suggest better ways to do existing things so that you’re creating a value (and interest) to your work—not just filling a gap. This philosophy has kept me interested in continuing what I do. (Fifteen years with one group alone!)

Try hard not to impact your family time or the free time that’s important to you. I tend to do a lot of my work late at night once my family has gone to bed. Learn about the group and their operation before you overwhelm them with your great new ideas. Often, an organization operates a certain way because of deeper reasons—or personalities. Your new idea might be wonderful, but it could also hurt them as everyone scrambles to accommodate something you’re trying to change. (On the other hand, you could also be that breath of fresh air they’ve needed for years!)

Don’t start a project you can’t finish. I’ve helped out several groups with websites that the previous volunteer never completed. The group was left hanging to dry when the well-meaning webmaster got busy with something in his life. Don’t enter into a project if you can’t finish or gracefully complete it in a short time. (Remember, these people will talk—and they will either relate how you “walk on water” or left a big mess that no one could fix.)

Lastly, and possibly most important: Remember that some day you will not be there to help. For recurring projects, try to make your work as simple to follow as possible. Try not to work in complex tools if you can. I’ve created newsletters in Word and websites in FrontPage—all because I knew that whoever was going to take it on would not be using InDesign or Dreamweaver. I purposely designed things that can be easily updated by a novice. (I made sure they had lots of copy/paste solutions.)

In conclusion

At the start of this article, I spoke of the new skills you would learn, the new ideas you could bring to an appreciative client, and the new career direction you might stumble upon. The more you do, the more you will receive in return. It’s worked for so many of us willing to give it a try. It isn’t really rocket science, just wisely using your talents to help others.

Payback? Well, how about smiling faces, a very grateful organization, a successful event or project where you had serious input, and a wonderful feeling deep in your gut. All without worrying about how it was going to look on your yearly review.

And maybe, just maybe, a payback of a better, smarter you as you head off into the crazy job market.

Guy Ball (e-mail, guy@guyball.com) is a senior technical writer for EADS North America Test and Services in Irvine, California. He’s volunteered his technical writing skills for over 20 years and swears it gave him skills that let him grow his career and discover new opportunities. He’s written a couple of books, created a few organizational websites, developed an award-winning history coloring book for kids, and honed his professional skills helping on a wide variety of projects.

This article was originally published in the April 2009 issue of TechniScribe, the newsletter of the Orange County Chapter.

Read about one chapter member’s rewarding volunteer experience in Students Say “Thank You!”

by Gloria McConnell, Managing Editor

Our June meeting brought the chapter’s 2008-2009 year to a close. Many member volunteers who have worked hard all year received well-deserved awards. Read about the power of volunteering (for STC and others) in this issue’s feature story, Smart Volunteering.

Summer networking will keep us connected

Plan now for the Phoenix chapter’s summer networking meetings, to be held on:

» July 14
» August 11

Networking meetings provide an opportunity for getting together with friends. They are casual (no program) and will be held at centrally located Valley restaurants.

Watch your e-mail inbox or the Events page for details! In the meantime, enjoy this issue of the Rough Draft.