STEVEN P. OLSON
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06/01/04





SteveO's Newsletter

June 2004, v2e3

 

Greetings, All--

In light of last quarter's tardy newsletter, the Marketing department at stevenolson.com has been tasked with meeting deadlines or facing the wrath of our otherwise wonderful and benign CEO who really doesn't mean to eat copywriters for breakfast. In the interests of a long and happy life, here now is the news: on-time, on-budget, and on-message.

Technical
For Electronic Arts, I have begun a project to document the tool used by their internal development teams to build levels for games. This worldbuilding tool is the point of intersection for EA's core development disciplines, so it's been interesting to learn more about how each role contributes to building 3D worlds. Of course, all of this know-how will change in a matter of months, but as of June 2004, I Know How. Created in RoboHelp Office, it will be deployed as a compiled Help file in a friendly Web format.

Kidstuff
This Spring, I completed two more books for kids, including the Neil Gaiman biography noted in the last newsletter. My editor was happy with the manuscript, and I look forward to seeing it in print. The other one explained the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency in the struggle to contain the global proliferation of nuclear weapons. In sum, think Duck-Duck-Goose. Really, really dangerous Duck-Duck-Goose.

New Skills & Tools Page
In response to some confusion about what I can provide, I've created a Skills & Tools page. You can review the many types of writing that I have done on a professional basis, as well as my software toolbelt. No hardhat required.

New Sample
As you undoubtedly recall from the v2e1 newsletter, I wrote a brochure on Herff Jones' use of Adobe InDesign CS at the end of last year. It has now been posted as a sample. Note that some materials have been removed by request. If you see samples from your company that need editing of sensitive materials, we have the technology.

Fiction
Last newsletter, I mentioned a project to develop a novel based in the world of games. That project "in development" has officially become a project "in turnaround," as the publisher did not bite on it due to factors, I suspect, that were over my pay grade. However, the process of developing a full-length novel idea was enjoyable. Next time....

Professional Affiliations
Recently, I joined the Society for Technical Communication (stc.org), which will hopefully provide some assistance in two core struggles of freelance technical writing: keeping abreast of market conditions and staying on top of emerging technologies. Now, if I can only figure out how to stay awake during Society meetings.

Newsletter
Some folks may have had difficulty seeing the last version of the newsletter. In particular, readers with Yahoo! accounts should be able now to see the newsletter in all of its resplendent glory.

Legal
In the interests of privacy, feel free to unsubscribe to this newsletter.

I have hours available in June, so please feel free to inquire about any of your upcoming projects at stevenolson.com. Have a fine Summer.

Cheers,
-SteveO






Web version: www.stevenolson.com/newsletter/060104sponews.htm





 
 
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