I’d Rather Be Writing – Tom Johnson

9 Responses to “Blog Wall”

1. Kai Weber says:

   January 26, 2009 at 11:03 pm

   Tom,

   Just a quick note to thank you for your excellent blog. I’ve been following it for about 2 years now and find it fascinating and instructive as ever, with all the changes you’ve made. It’s still one of my favorite technical writing blogs. When I need to research a particular issue, I search your archives along with EServer.

   I find I get the most out of your podcasts. You’re asking the right people the right questions, and I find them very instructive. I’ve just looked through your podcast index and found that I can still recall individual points made by Noz Urbina, Emma Hamer, Brenda Huettner and Scott Abel. I’ve edited some of the podcasts (cropping the relevant bits) and stored them for future reference.

   I really appreciate “I’d rather be writing”. I’d be a worse tech writer without it – and a less confident one! Few other places on the web give me a better sense of being plugged into the TW community and knowing what’s out there.

   Best regards from Germany, Kai.

   Reply
2. Robert Brown says:

   January 26, 2009 at 11:05 pm

   Tom,

   I am Josh Allen’s old TA, the one who hosted your session at the Pre-Professional Conference, and I just wanted to tell you how big of an impact your presentation at the conference made. I have talked with two students just within the last three weeks or so who mentioned how your presentation made an impact on what job they were going to choose after graduation. Since your presentation, last few weeks excluded, I’ve probably talked to a half a dozen or so people who said the same thing, and I’m sure there are more out there.

   So, I just wanted to thank you again for your presentation. It’s really had an unusually large effect on the students here.

   Take care,
   Robert Brown

   Reply
3. Tony Chung says:

   January 27, 2009 at 5:59 pm

   Hey Tom,

   You’ll be glad to know that I started my new WP blog right after your talk last year at DocTrain West and it’s still alive and kicking. After the last few months of just blogging “screen of consciousness”-style, I realized I need to focus my content to target specific user bases a lot better. I hope to have a new setup by the blog’s first anniversary.

   Your new design is very clean. I’ve got lots to ask about it, but I’ll save it for an email.

   Happy new year!

   -Tony

   Reply
4. Luke Hawthorne says:

   January 28, 2009 at 1:41 pm

   I’ve just found this site Tom. It seems that you’re one of the few authors who can actually make technical writing understandable to LESS tech. savvy people like myself.

   I’ll be sure to visit often.

   Reply
5. Katie says:

   January 30, 2009 at 10:54 am

   Hi, Tom–

   I enjoy your blog very much. I’m slowly making my way towards the technical writing side of professional writing, and I appreciate the general overview of the field that you provide in addition to the commentary on specific topics and current issues.

   Thanks for your hard work!

   Reply
6. Carrie Van Stedum says:

   February 11, 2009 at 8:51 pm

   Hi – I wanted to let you know I enjoy “I’d Rather Be Writing” very much. It’s informative and enjoyable to read. Just watched the video Q&A from a few days ago, too. My impression is that the informal setting and relaxed, unscripted talking made it feel like I was just having a casual conversation with a fellow tech writer who is happy to share tips for better writing. It’s helpful for me to get that kind of insight, to see how other writers work and what their experiences are.

   I’ve been a tech writer for a year now and though there are occasional days I just don’t want to see another document, most days I can hardly believe I get paid to put together information in an attractive, reader-friendly document. The software engineers I work with can hardly believe I enjoy doing that. Ha.

   Thanks for your writing,

   Carrie Van Stedum

   Reply
7. Daniel Ng says:

   February 11, 2009 at 8:54 pm

   Hi!

   Just want to thank you for one of the best podcasts I’ve heard on tech comm in awhile. I usually don’t write back but I thought this is one of those podcasts that really do add value when you listen to it a few times. Great content.

   Great to have him back on the site again.

   From DITA, to insightful user research and anecdotes on going back to basics.
   absolutely one of the best!

   Reply
8. Brian Kennedy says:

   May 29, 2009 at 9:13 am

   Mr. Johnson,

   I’m a college student and I recently changed my major from English Education to straight English. I came back to the idea of Technical Writing as a focus, but it wasn’t until I read your blog that I really became excited about it. Technology has been a fun hobby of mine for the last 5 years, and I’ve loved all kinds of writing since I was a child. I never thought that the two subjects could meet on common ground in a career. Your blog has shown me that they can!

   I’ve been excitedly preparing myself to be able to jump right into the field as I go through the last year of my Bachelor’s degree, and a large portion of my time this last week has been following some of your pointers and thinking about ideas of my own: listening to podcasts, creating a blog, educating myself, and trying to get involved with anything related to technical communication. I’ve got high hopes for the future, and I just wanted to commend and thank you. Your site is an awesome source of information and explanation about the field, and you keep a positive attitude (such a contagious perspective!).

   Again, thanks for dedication to technical communication and those who are interested in it. Consider yourself +1 fan!

   Regards,

   Brian Kennedy

   Reply
9. Lory Manrique-Hyland says:

   January 10, 2010 at 3:30 pm

   Hi Tom. I will be quoting you in a paper/project I’m doing for a course on training and developoment. Thanks!!

   Reply