Writing copy

Dyslexia, what a wonderful word to spell. 

While I love reading, writing has always been a challenge for me (another reason for this blog, something to force me to practice). For Open Your Diary I've got to produce both promotional copy (a few example case studies) and some help text to guide users if they get a little lost. 

I've been struggling to write this copy for ages, always putting it off with excuses and more important things to do. It has come to the point where I'm fed up with this task hanging over me, so I've going to bash it out. 

I then realised that I'd been worrying unnecessarily, I'm writing for the web not for hard copy. If I get it wrong, yes it is embarrassing and may cost me a little business on that day, but it's a web page, I can change it in seconds. It is costing me more not to have no copy up than it is to have just a brief set of notes up (within reason). 

One technique I've found that helps is to write a few bullet points and gradually turn these into sentences rather than struggling to leap strait in. I'll also get MrsAlex to cast an eye over the site as she has a talent (one of many) for proof reading. 

One tool I've found helpful for writing technical docs is Scrivener. This writing app works on the basis that you jot a few notes on a post card for each piece of text and then gradully fill in a little more detail. It has a range of views, a split screen so you can see your notes and your proper copy at the same time. You can also drag and drop cards, sections and whole chapters to rearrange your text. It also has some customisable meta data to help tick off completed sections etc. Although it was designed for writers, its the perfect tool for user stories in XP extreme programming.