The Pencilhut

Technical writing and design services

Skills

A good technical writer is a good communicator but what makes a skilled technical writer? Lots of skills can be taught but the really useful ones are learnt by doing stuff.

As a technical writer I first learnt the basics; writing concisely, editing, structured content development, clarity and design. Then with each new project my experience and skills developed. There is always something new to learn.

Bio

Who is Chris Burden? I have over 30 years of experience writing and developing technical content. I have been lucky to have worked in many different industries with some great people.

Using my experience, I have designed and created content for a huge range of products and services.

  • 15 years - Hewlett Packard
  • 5 years - Agilent/JDSU
  • 1.5 years - Gaurdall
  • 2 years - Racal
  • 2.5 years - Doc-department
  • 1.5 years - Optos
  • 1.5 years - 3di information solutions

Tools

As a technical writer you need to be able to use and understand a wide range of tools and applications.

Here is a short list of the most common applications that I use on a regular basis.

  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • Markup tools
  • InDesign
  • MadCap Flare
  • Framemaker
  • MS Office tools
  • PowerPoint
  • XML editors
  • ...and many more

Focus

Technical writing is always changing. With new products, services, and people, you need to learn and adapt all the time.

+44 (0) 7958 533 616
chris@pencilhut.com
Chris Burden @ Linkedin
2020