In order to protect my own sanity, and in light of the increased traffic to my site, I've decided to move my fiction offshore. I'm just moving the current NaNoWriMo off for now, but I'll be moving the rest (NaNo of past years and short fiction of all varieties) off as soon as I find two seconds.
The best part is that in the process, I'm organising them a little better, so it should be easier for you to find where you're up to, and then continue on from where you left off with a minimum of fuss.
The worst part is that - for November at least - I'm locking the site down. It's easy to get a password though, just send me an email or DM and let me know who you are, then I can grant you access. During November, I'm more or less glued to my computer anyway, so you should be more or less straight in to the good stuff once you've sent me an email.
The new site is http://lanabrindley-fiction.blogspot.com
Apologies again for the continuing interruptions to the novelling. Hopefully this will help to alleviate that problem.
Enjoy! And please remember to let me know what you think about the fiction. I'm a writer, so a little positive reinforcement is a great way to get me to write more :)
Why Thank You!
To all my new wonderful visitors - hello and welcome! Thanks for dropping by! As you can see, the blog is a little crazy right now, due to a little thing that I participate in every year called NaNoWriMo. Be assured that it's not always like this.
To everyone else who is just looking for the next installment in the story - I'll return you to your regular November schedulingmadness shortly. Please bear with me!
Yesterday, a co-worker alerted me to the fact that my name had been listed as one of the Top Open Source Technical Writers on the web. I was blown away! I am seriously over the moon about it all, and wanted to sincerely thank both Aaron Davis and Scott Nesbitt of DMN Communications for the vote of confidence.
Technical writing is a funny kind of industry to be in. The people who are in it are for the most part seriously excited about where tech writing is going, and what we can do along the way. Of course, combined with the type of people who are involved in open source generally, it means you end up working with crazy-smart people who are really seriously passionate about what they do, and how what they do can make the technical world a better place.
I'm very privileged to be able to write free/libre and open source technical documentation for a living. Not many get to have that experience. The things that the open source community has taught me, and the experiences I've been able to have doing so, are something that working anywhere else just wouldn't offer you.
My passion is creating the best technical documentation I possibly can, and making it available to as many people as possible. More often than not in open source, the deadlines are tight, the scope is big, and the resources limited. The challenge that situation creates is, as expected, pretty huge. Being given the opportunity to attempt to create documentation that shines within that environment is one of the biggest challenges I've ever encountered. It's a challenge that I wake up every morning to, and while there are days that I think I can't do it, there are many more days where all I want to do is inch a little closer to that goal. Having people like Aaron and Scott publically recognise that effort is what makes the hard work all worth it.
To follow on from Aaron and Scott's list, I'd like to shout out to all those people who write, contribute, edit, review, and use open source technical documentation - even if it's only spotting typos and raising a bug. You are the ones who deserve the recognition, because without you, I wouldn't have the opportunity to do what I love. I hope you all enjoy creating and using open source technical documentation as much as I do.
Cross-posted to Foss Docs
To everyone else who is just looking for the next installment in the story - I'll return you to your regular November scheduling
Yesterday, a co-worker alerted me to the fact that my name had been listed as one of the Top Open Source Technical Writers on the web. I was blown away! I am seriously over the moon about it all, and wanted to sincerely thank both Aaron Davis and Scott Nesbitt of DMN Communications for the vote of confidence.
Technical writing is a funny kind of industry to be in. The people who are in it are for the most part seriously excited about where tech writing is going, and what we can do along the way. Of course, combined with the type of people who are involved in open source generally, it means you end up working with crazy-smart people who are really seriously passionate about what they do, and how what they do can make the technical world a better place.
I'm very privileged to be able to write free/libre and open source technical documentation for a living. Not many get to have that experience. The things that the open source community has taught me, and the experiences I've been able to have doing so, are something that working anywhere else just wouldn't offer you.
My passion is creating the best technical documentation I possibly can, and making it available to as many people as possible. More often than not in open source, the deadlines are tight, the scope is big, and the resources limited. The challenge that situation creates is, as expected, pretty huge. Being given the opportunity to attempt to create documentation that shines within that environment is one of the biggest challenges I've ever encountered. It's a challenge that I wake up every morning to, and while there are days that I think I can't do it, there are many more days where all I want to do is inch a little closer to that goal. Having people like Aaron and Scott publically recognise that effort is what makes the hard work all worth it.
To follow on from Aaron and Scott's list, I'd like to shout out to all those people who write, contribute, edit, review, and use open source technical documentation - even if it's only spotting typos and raising a bug. You are the ones who deserve the recognition, because without you, I wouldn't have the opportunity to do what I love. I hope you all enjoy creating and using open source technical documentation as much as I do.
Cross-posted to Foss Docs
Embarking on a Journey
Once again, November has rolled around with its usual alarming regularity.
The end of October marks not only the beginning of that rather fast descent into madness that is NaNoWriMo, but also the second birthday of this particular blog. Thanks for hanging in there for the ride!
This year has been ... interesting. And it's not over yet. All in all, I'm a lot happier now than ever before, despite the fact that I'm so busy I can't even scratch myself. But, the Girl Geek Dinners have taken off, my speaking engagements have gone from none to wow, work is awesome as always, and my little girl is nearly in grade one. Despite all her new found knowledge, she's still eager to cram in some more, and she's horribly excited about being a 'big girl'.
There have been some other things happen this year that were not so good, but I've learned a lot, I've discovered a few things about the world that I didn't know before. And I've also gotten over at least one of my fears. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, hey?
As for NaNoWriMo, well it all starts with a gigantic Kick Off Party (KOP) at the Pancake Parlour tomorrow. Some nutters are planning on being there from 7am. I intend to struggle in as soon as I get out of bed. If today is any indication, that should be around 11am. Pancakes for lunch, I guess.
As usual, I will be blogging each day's writing efforts here. I strongly suggest you don't read any of them. If you do decide to take the plunge, though, be prepared for disjointed storylines, bad typing, plot holes big enough to walk through without ducking your head, and the type of grammar that no self-respecting writer should ever make public.
In other words ... a whole boatload of fun!
UPDATED 14 November: There was a fraction too much fiction, so all the NaNo stuff has been shifted off to a new site. Read this blog post to find out where it's gone, and why.
The end of October marks not only the beginning of that rather fast descent into madness that is NaNoWriMo, but also the second birthday of this particular blog. Thanks for hanging in there for the ride!
There have been some other things happen this year that were not so good, but I've learned a lot, I've discovered a few things about the world that I didn't know before. And I've also gotten over at least one of my fears. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, hey?
As usual, I will be blogging each day's writing efforts here. I strongly suggest you don't read any of them. If you do decide to take the plunge, though, be prepared for disjointed storylines, bad typing, plot holes big enough to walk through without ducking your head, and the type of grammar that no self-respecting writer should ever make public.
In other words ... a whole boatload of fun!
UPDATED 14 November: There was a fraction too much fiction, so all the NaNo stuff has been shifted off to a new site. Read this blog post to find out where it's gone, and why.
Magic waterfalls
It's called a waterfall model because if you start at the top, the results of the first step are used to move into the second step, just like water flowing down a series of steps into a pool.
The students I was speaking to are at a point in their projects where they need to be producing some documentation. For a bunch of budding engineers this process can be a little daunting, and the question came up about the best way to tackle it. The answer is fairly simple - start the top of the waterfall, and let the current take you. By answering a few questions in the information plan, you can start creating a content specification. Using the chapter headings and source information you developed in the content spec, you can write the document. Once it's written, you can publish it, once it's published you can review it, and then you're ready to start again at the top with the next project.
Technical writing is less of a creative process, and more of a scientific process than just about any other kind of writing (with the possible exclusion of some kinds of academic writing). The creativity only becomes important when you try and turn it from something dry and boring, to something magical.
Cross-posted to Foss Docs
दीपावली
Today marks the start of the 8-day long diwali (or dīpāvali) festival. It is a festival of light, celebrated in Hinduism and Buddhism, among others.
In the past few days, I've been bothered by our government's reaction to the 250 Tamil asylum-seekers, who are now on hunger strike in a boat in Merak, Java. These people are apparently so evil that both sides of politics agree that they shouldn't be allowed in to our country, to enjoy our freedoms.
We quite happily advertise our wealth to the world. When those who have nothing; those who live daily in fear and poverty; seek to improve theirs and their childrens' lives by giving everything they have to come here, we turn them away. We turn them away.
What evil do these people encompass? The detractors will cry that we will be over-run. Well, so what if we are? We have boundless plains to share, after all.
Even if you have never heard of diwali before, even if this day would normally have passed for you without a glimmer of recognition of what today means for so many Hindus and Buddhists, please just take a moment to think of those who will not be returning home. Take a moment to consider how many people are currently living in fear of their lives, in complete and abject poverty, and who are willing to give everything they have to try and rise above that. And think about the people who are so close to their dream of the future ... yet so far.
Happy diwali. I hope that - for you - it is a time of light and happiness. And I hope that you will spare a thought and light a candle for those who cannot celebrate diwali this year, through no fault of their own.
Haecksen in Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara
I'm going to linux.conf.au in Wellington in January, to give my "Beautiful Technical Documentation" talk for the Haecksen mini-conf. Haecksen is the German feminine version of the English word 'hackers'. Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara is the Maori word for Wellington.
I've done a bit of travelling in my time, but the opportunity to hop over the puddle to New Zealand has never presented itself before now. I'm quite excited!
Incidentally, I've also been asked to speak at the ANU in a couple of weeks, so I'm going to be using an extended version of the same talk. Now, to write it!
I've done a bit of travelling in my time, but the opportunity to hop over the puddle to New Zealand has never presented itself before now. I'm quite excited!
Incidentally, I've also been asked to speak at the ANU in a couple of weeks, so I'm going to be using an extended version of the same talk. Now, to write it!
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