The Not-Boring Tech Writer

In this episode, I talk with Vladimir Izmalkov, an experienced technical communicator who has built and managed documentation teams and worked across open source and enterprise software in both English and Russian. We talk about his RPG-inspired "skill tree" for technical writers, how mapping your skills into different "classes" can help you make sense of a nonlinear career, and how to build a per...

In this solo episode, I share my latest content updates progress and reflect on my takeaways from Heather Zoppetti’s interview (S3:E38) . I also share some thoughts on shifting from focusing on reducing stress to building confidence and share an anecdote about how my podcast t-shirt helped me discover a local tech writer in the wild. — I wrote and hosted a series of five webinars on our Change Man...

In this episode, I talk with Heather Zoppetti, a senior technical writer who came to the field through software development and a decade spent running a hand-knitting pattern business. We talk about how technical communication shows up far beyond software documentation, how to recognize and reframe the transferable skills hiding in a nonlinear career, and why being willing to try something matters...

In this solo episode, I share my latest content updates progress and reflect on my takeaways from Florian Lefebvre’s interview (S3:E36) . I also share some thoughts on how documentation leads can reduce stress for contributors or reviewers. — I’ve been continuing to update docs as part of the article editor redesign, though somehow despite updating a lot, the total number hasn’t changed much. I've...

In this episode, I talk with Florian Lefebvre, a core maintainer of the open source Astro framework, about what it looks like to write and contribute to docs as a developer. We discuss his mindset shift from being reluctant about docs to seeing them as essential to shipping a feature, how he collaborates with a dedicated docs lead through "talking and doc-ing" calls, the importance of writing chan...

In this solo episode, I share my latest content updates progress and reflect on my takeaways from Eric Holscher’s interview (S3:E34) . I also share some thoughts on supporting institutions we care about and how to keep “community” from being an unpleasant word. — KnowledgeOwl just released a major redesign of our article editor, so I’ve been spending a lot of time testing that redesign and prepari...

In this episode, I talk with Eric Holscher, co-founder of Read the Docs and Write the Docs, about building and sustaining a community for people who care about documentation. We discuss the origin story of Write the Docs, how the conference and community have evolved over 13 years, the value of Lightning Talks and Unconference sessions for fostering organic connection, how AI is reshaping the role...

In this solo episode, I share my latest content updates progress and reflect on my takeaways from Jacob Moses’ interview (S3:E32) . I also share some thoughts on applying concepts about lovable neighborhoods to documentation. — I updated the KnowledgeOwl Support Knowledge Base (Support KB) to create all the documentation for our new Owl Analytics Export API, including API endpoint documentation an...

In this episode, I talk with Jacob Moses, the founder and original host of The Not-Boring Tech Writer podcast, about how the skills and values he developed as a tech writer have shaped his journey into community development and real estate. We discuss his concept of building "lovable places," how user-centered thinking and empathy translate from documentation to neighborhood development, the power...

In this solo episode, I share my latest content updates progress and reflect on my takeaways from Bill Holland’s interview (S3:E30) . I also share my attempts to reframe the idea of strategic documentation projects and maintenance as competing for time to the idea of them being in a deeply symbiotic relationship. — I’ve been quietly adding documentation to our Support Knowledge Base for recent rel...

In this episode, I talk with Bill Holland, a motion graphics designer and video producer, about how tech writers can effectively collaborate with visual creators. We discuss what to include in a creative brief, how to give constructive feedback to designers, setting realistic expectations for animation types and budgets, and how AI is changing but not replacing visual creative work. — Bill and I d...

In this solo episode, I share my latest progress updates as I recover from finishing my big project, along with updates on my daily check-in form. I reflect on some of the key takeaways from Kelton Noyes’ interview (S3:E28) and how my love for process makes my life easier as a tech writer. — I’ve been working on catching up on the release tail from finishing my project and getting my docs backlog...

In this episode, I talk with Kelton Noyes, a senior technical communicator who started his career in tech support and gradually built his way into documentation. We discuss how to choose documentation tools, practical strategies for making the business case for investing in documentation, and how Kelton successfully advocated for technical writing as a valuable full-time discipline within his orga...

In this solo episode, I share my latest content updates progress (spoiler: I finished my project! 🎉). I also share the new daily check-in Google Form I’m trying, inspired by Kate Pond’s interview (S3:E24) , as well as some general thoughts on the power of self-documentation and a call for more intermittent or unofficial tech writing guests. — I finally finished my project to update the KnowledgeO...

In this episode, I share clips from my conversations with Liz Argall, Dennis Dawson, Sarah Walker, Ryan Macklin, Nick Graziade, Janine Chan, and Kate Pond. The clips include outtakes, sound check moments, and segments we cut for time from our 2025 interviews. — This episode is different from our usual format. Instead of a single guest interview, I'm sharing clips that we cut from this year's episo...

In this solo episode, I share my latest content update progress. I also reflect on all of 2025 hosting this podcast, offering lessons learned about tech writing and myself alongside gratitude to this year’s awesome guests and listeners like you. — I’ve continued my work to update the KnowledgeOwl Support Knowledge Base to align with major navigation and UI changes we rolled out in December 2024. I...

In this episode, I talk with Kate Pond, a software engineer and former park ranger who turned self-documentation into a career superpower. We discuss her practical system of using Google Forms to track daily work and accomplishments, how this helps with performance reviews and job interviews, and why documenting your own work is essential for professional growth. — Kate Pond and I discuss her uniq...

In this solo episode, I talk about my latest content update progress. I also reflect on Dennis Dawson’s interview (S3:E22) , the ways I'm already using Dennis's tips, and the power of doing small things or repairs to affect larger change. — I’ve continued my work to update the KnowledgeOwl Support Knowledge Base to align with major navigation and UI changes we rolled out in December 2024. My previ...

In this episode, I talk with Dennis Dawson , a technical writer with 40 years of experience who creates the sketchnotes for Write the Docs talks . We talk about how humor and visual elements can make documentation more engaging and memorable, the science behind why graphics help information stick in long-term memory, practical tools and techniques for adding visual content to your docs, and why yo...

In this solo episode, I share an update on my content update progress. I also reflect on Fabrizio Ferri-Benedetti’s interview (S3:E20) and the ways exploring models like his Seven-Action Documentation model have helped me interrogate my own beliefs about tech writing, the benefits of self-knowledge in becoming a better writer, and the ways that maintenance docs work helps me recharge. — I’ve conti...

In this episode, I talk with Fabrizio Ferri-Benedetti about moving beyond strictly following documentation frameworks to embrace strategic thinking, his Seven-Action Documentation model that prioritizes user needs over content types, and how technical writers can grow and adapt in the AI era while positioning themselves as essential strategic partners. — Fabri and I discuss his background as a cog...

In this solo episode, I share an update on my content update progress. I also reflect on Sarah Walker’s interview (S3:E18) and the concepts of Asteya, giving great service, and going the extra mile. — I’ve continued my work to update the KnowledgeOwl Support Knowledge Base to align with major navigation and UI changes that we rolled out in December. I also created about 30 articles for the launch...

In this episode, I talk with Sarah Walker, a technical writer and yoga instructor, about how yoga principles like establishing foundations, respecting people’s time, and embracing practice over perfection can transform your approach to technical writing and help you create more mindful, user-centered documentation. — Sarah and I discuss her path into technical writing, which began with yoga instru...

In this solo episode, I share an update on my content update progress. I also reflect on Manny Silva’s interview (S3:E14) , Ryan Macklin’s interview (S3:E16) , and Liz Argall’s interview (S3:E13) and the importance of learning even when we don't have explicit reasons to do so. — I’ve continued my work to update the KnowledgeOwl Support Knowledge Base to align with major navigation and UI changes t...

Learn how Ryan Macklin's " empathy advocacy " framework helps you design documentation that works for users in all emotional states (e.g. anxious, frustrated, exhausted, and curious/distractible) rather than assuming everyone comes to your docs in a perfect state of clarity. — Ryan and I discuss his unique path into technical writing, starting from his early computer hacking days and role-playing...