Thread by @KatrinaMoody

Looking for a new job and I had this problem.

I work under NDAs and don't have a lot of my actual work as a technical writer I can point to and say - "This is mine."

I asked around and realized it was a common issue.

But most 'sample' portfolio ideas made me cringe.

A 🧵👇

Suggestions I found online were to write a how-to article as a technical writer.

Their ideas:

· How to make a PB sandwich 🥪
· How to fold a paper airplane 📃
· How to tie a tie 👔
· How to post on FB ⁉️

I didn't want to write any of those.

Also, they were stupid.

So I dug a little deeper and found some better ideas for sample papers and articles I could write. I was thinking about it ...

Then I had a bright idea. 💡

What if I turned something I know how to do into a true project?

Something that I could get excited about?

I posted yesterday about what I settled on because I was way too excited about it. (Don't judge me! I'm a nerd, we like nerdy things 😛)

I decided to put together a technical style guide.

One that could be used for internal teams and internal documentation needs.

Folks! Seriously.

I went from thinking I'd put together a quick MVP guide, maybe 2,000 words. I'd prove I could do the thing.

Then the devil on my shoulder said, 'but what now?'

So I went a little overboard...

First I used Obsidian (@obsdmd rocks!) for collecting all my notes together and writing the thing.

Then, I started thinking about how I'd present the thing and said to myself, "Hey, why not put it up on your site?"

So I have a "portfolio" on my site, and ...

Oh, my site is a #WordPress site (bc it rocks and I love it) even though I write on Medium sometiimes.

My portfolio is just a page with a few special blocks and little bit of positioning CSS (bc I'm picky).

Then, I linked to the Style Guide and ...

I build a mini set of blocks just to use for my Style Guide pages (for now I didn't create CPT or anything, but I might eventually).

And so I'm still in the process of adding it to my site.

Then, I was like, maybe this can help other folks?

So I went back through what I had written of my guide, and realized it wouldn't be that hard to help people customize it (say for smaller businesses or agencies).

So I created a questionnaire and ...

I went through the guide, expanded it, then started adding a few comments/notes in brackets throughout so it was even easier to customize.

So now, today I'll finish up some of the sections I added, and get it all put up on the site.

But what about...

Once it's completed, I'll also set it up in Word and have that file available to download from the project how-to page on my site. 😀

(Hey, look at that! I DID get to write a how-to article of sorts!)

BUT ...

The more exciting ideas came up this morning in one of my writing groups.

Another technical writer suggested I set it up as an ebook and workbook. 😳

I just don't think my nerdy heart can take all the excitement.

Because I was already thinking ...

Maybe I could also put the guide itself up on GitHub so anyone can use it as a starting point.

Or GitBook (or both!) ... on Notion. (eventually) Use Obsidian publish.

The sky's the limit.

All because I didn't like the answer I got to a pretty common question. 😁

PS - I *know* there are great options available on style guides in general.

But there are differences between one used for internal documentation/teams and one used for marketing and/or branding purposes.

And every company is different and uses different tools, etc.

PSS - Also, ChatGPT folks will understand just how much fun it was having a "conversation" with my AI friend about the best things to include in each section, and even whether my outline made sense.

I compared my outline to the one spun up by ChatGPT for each section.

I've mentioned before I'm not that impressed with ChatGPT's actual writing ability. So I don't really use it for that, because if I did it would be a word salad, repetitively boring kind of thing 🤣

@threadreaderapp unroll

(new shiny tool - is this all I have to do?)