[Ansteorra] Documentation Advice

[Hillary Greenslade]

Great suggestions, thanks Hanna.  
I would also add:  Read it out loud.   Sometimes hearing it out loud helps one 
find spelling or punctuation adjustments needed.  


Thanks, Hillary

Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:10:08 -0800 (PST)
From: Deana Covel Whitney <dmcovel79 at yahoo.com>
To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA  Inc." <ansteorra at ansteorra.org>
Subject: [Ansteorra] Documentation Advice

Greetings Artisan,
With Kingdom A&S right around the corner, documentation must be on the minds of 
every artisan competing or thinking about it.  

Beyond figuring out what project you want to do, writing the documentation is 
one of the more intimidating aspects of entering KAS for many people.  

It is always advisable to have someone else review your work.  You don't have to 
agree with all their suggested changes, but they could bring up good points you 
had not thought about. 

But you also have to edit yourself. To help out those who might need a boost, 
below is my advice on how to self-edit your documentation.

Edit yourself by: 
1) Print a copy of your paper. 
  IMPORTANT: Reading it on the computer will not be the same. Only a print copy 
will let you see some mistakes. 

2) VERY IMPORTANT: Wait 2-48 hours before looking at it! 
  The time delay helps give your mind and eyes a beak. 
3) Read paper with a pen in hand ' any color that's NOT black ink. 
4) Edit yourself. 
  See the missing words, the 'country vs. county' moments, the over long 
sentences, the out of order steps, the 'Oh, I should add this!' or the 'This 
doesn?t go here!' changes you want to make. 

5) Wait an hour (or three) after the self-edit. 
6) Open your computer file and make the changes you still agree with. 
7) Repeat steps 1-6 one more time before you print your final copies, as time 
before the event allows. 


I hope this helps out someone. Best of Luck to everyone.  If you have a more 
specific documentation question, never be scared to ask.

In Service to the Arts,
  Hanna von Dahl, OL

"Burn brightly without burning out." - Richard Briggs