The benefits of volunteer work experience (part 1)

As a Master of Publishing student some years ago, I had my first volunteer work experience in publishing. Prior to this, I'd done units on magazine production, book production, feature articles, and editing, among others. There was much to learn, and I was very keen, having finally found my element after previously studying and working …

Somewhere else

Observations from some time ago. I wrote this for a writing blog I started a while back, but never maintained. I came across it again while sifting through some older writing; though it's a bit on the flowery side, I like that I can still conjure this scene in my imagination, and some of the serenity …

Turning yarns into stories: Writing

Converting oral history transcripts into relatable forms Depending on your project’s purpose, recording oral histories doesn’t necessarily stop with the act of recording (whether digitally or on paper). Often, oral history is – as Valerie Raleigh Yow writes in her book Recording Oral History – ‘the recording of personal testimony delivered in oral form with …

What is narrative non-fiction?

'If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.' - Rudyard Kipling There is an understandable propensity for confusing narrative non-fiction with the notion of "made up facts". Alternatively referred to as "creative non-fiction", it is no wonder that some people focus on the implication of "invention". However, this is not (or …

Turning yarns into stories: Interviewing

Tips for interviewing subjects for oral histories Despite writing several stories for the Yarns collection of books over the past several years, and writing technical documents for my day job, it has been a long time since I’ve written much else. I thoroughly enjoy writing, and have found it very rewarding to use my skills to …

Instructional design and adult learning

As a systems trainer, I have found instructional design principles to be invaluable in the design and development of training materials. Particularly when you are faced with different audiences for your training materials – especially in cases where the same document needs to apply to more than one type of user – it is not …

Midnight musings

It's almost midnight on a Thursday, the sixth day of a cold that has dampened my spirits and a whole box of tissues. It is also the first night in many where I haven't managed to fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion. It has been tiring and frustrating, to be sure; but I guess that's …

Word clouds as training tools

Graphics and other visual elements can enhance a trainee's understanding of a topic. Depending on your topic and audience, an otherwise purposeless image on your title page can add a bit of interest to a plain document; otherwise, superfluous graphics are best avoided. When used purposefully, a carefully placed graphic can draw attention to information that …