TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I'm the lone tech writer at my company; as it happens, I also
know Word and Excel better than anybody else here (no hubris
here: I used to taught courses in both programs for years). I
also have a better grasp of English than most (I am a writer,
after all :)
While no one asks me to type anything, I am constantly asked
to reformat, redesign, or otherwise improve upon all sorts of
documents. Some of these documents fall within my job
description. Most don't.
I've found a simple solution that benefits everyone: when someone
asks me to do something along those lines, I teach them how to
do it themselves. They learn new Word/Excel skills, and I save
time and head off future requests.
Recently I started supplementing this practice by writing up any
useful procedures and putting them on our intranet, with regular
reminders to the staff to check there before asking me anything.
