Wanting to know “the rules” is a very natural impulse when it comes to writing. Learning and following the rules – of spelling, of grammar and usage, of how term papers are supposed to be formatted – was part and parcel of how most of us learned to write. This perspective can be detrimental when…
Category: Blog Posts
Fresh ideas about craft, clarity, creativity, and personal growth, as well as updates on my projects, media recommendations, and links to all the weird and delightful things I find on the internet.
Hire Product People Who Already Understand Content
This article originally appeared in Issue 050 of UX Writing Events. For some reason (tequila, mostly) I vented a bit of frustration yesterday afternoon with the way content work is often viewed in product land. This tweet seemed to resonate the most with folks: Imagine how much productivity you could unlock by hiring product leadership who already understand…
If the job is more than writing, why does your interview process focus on writing?
Content design is more than writing. Please send us your writing samples. Content design is more than writing. Please take this UX writing test. Content design is more than writing. Take ten minutes to review this and then provide feedback on the writing. Come on now. Do I even have to explain myself here? Bringing…
Two attributes that shape every content role
A version of this originally appeared in Issue 043 of my UX Writing Events newsletter. For a joint meetup of Content Marketing Atlanta and IxDA Atlanta earlier this year, the top question for me from both groups was some version of: “What is up with all of these different content roles?” To illustrate my take…
Fighting Feature Names
You don’t need Proper Nouns to refer to features consistently.
My most-used UX writing tool is Pastebot
Work faster and lose your place less with a big, super-powered clipboard.
Cuddle the Muddle: Paths into UX Content
It’s not easy to build a complex set of interrelated, esoteric skills in an ever-evolving landscape of people and technology and business. But it would be weird if it were easy.
On the Value of Content Design: Proving or Providing?
You can’t climb a non-existent fence.
Apps and Services I’ll Keep Using in 2021
The productivity, writing, design, and entertainment apps and services I’m still using (and paying for) in 2021.
It’s just words on websites
Unless you are working on content that is getting carved into a monument or put on a plaque being sent into space for future civilizations to find, you have my permission to relax.