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The Not-Boring Tech Writer

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

De : Kate Mueller
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 Some people hear the phrase "technical writing" and think it must be boring. We're here to show the full complexity and awesomeness of being a tech writer. This podcast is for anyone who writes technical documentation of any kind, including those who may not feel comfortable calling themselves tech writers. Whether you create product documentation, support documentation, READMEs, or any other technical content—and whether you deal with imposter syndrome, lack formal training, or find yourself somewhere in the gray area between technical communications and general writing—there's a place for you here. Each month, we publish two episodes: an interview with an amazing guest focusing on useful skills or tools that can help you improve your tech writing skills, and a behind-the-scenes solo episode with host Kate Mueller about what she’s working on, struggling with, or thinking about in her daily tech writing life. The Not-Boring Tech Writer is generously sponsored by KnowledgeOwl, knowledge base software built for people who care, by people who care.© 2016-2026 KnowledgeOwl Economie Réussite personnelle
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    Épisodes
    • Kate sounds off on process (and LEGO)

      Kate sounds off on process (and LEGO)
      Feb 5 2026
      In this solo episode, I share my latest progress updates as I recover from finishing my big project, along with updates on my daily check-in form. I reflect on some of the key takeaways from Kelton Noyes’ interview (S3:E28) and how my love for process makes my life easier as a tech writer.—I’ve been working on catching up on the release tail from finishing my project and getting my docs backlog under control, which has included replacing gifs with short mp4s, creating guidelines for my coworkers to more easily create new pages or update existing pages in the KnowledgeOwl Support Knowledge Base, and knocking out a bunch of low-hanging fruit docs tasks.I’ve also picked up a project I paused in late 2024: updating our API endpoint documentation. I’ve been reworking the documentation to better align with our API’s current reality and requirements and adding some quality of life improvements for myself. I’ve been consistently using the daily check-in form I outlined in episode 27, and I’m largely happy with it, though it hasn’t yet helped me improve my appreciations and high-fives for my teammates.I also reflect on Kelton’s observations about how documentation should help people to not feel dumb, how getting hands-on with tools during the evaluation process can help refine and reshape your documentation hierarchy of needs, and how his success in transitioning from a support role to a tech writing role was about focusing on selling himself as the person to do documentation, rather than on selling the documentation itself.I also reflect on one of my key personality traits that I believe makes me more successful as a tech writer: loving the process to do things rather than the product I create. I share anecdotes about LEGO, jigsaw puzzles, and thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Sometimes this strength is also my biggest weakness, so this month I’m focusing on trying to release more even if it feels like the process still wants me to keep working.In this episode:[00:00:58]: My progress updates[00:08:32]: Reflecting on Kelton’s episode[00:14:35]: LEGO, jigsaw puzzles, and thru-hikingResources discussed in this episode:KnowledgeOwl API endpoint documentationS3:E24: Self-documentation for career growth with Kate PondS3:E27: Kate sounds off on self-documentationBeating the Virginia Blues: Thru-hiking strategies to help you survive your next big projectThe Wild Reeds' song “Fruition”:On YouTubeOn Apple MusicOn SpotifyJoin the discussion by replying on Bluesky —Contact The Not-Boring Tech Writer team:We love hearing your ideas for episode topics, guests, or general feedback:Email: tnbtw@knowledgeowl.comthenotboringtechwriter.comLinkedInBlueskyGuest suggestions formContact Kate Mueller:knowledgewithsass.comLinkedInBlueskyContact KnowledgeOwl:knowledgeowl.comLinkedIn
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      30 min
    • Advocating for docs and choosing tools with Kelton Noyes

      Advocating for docs and choosing tools with Kelton Noyes
      Jan 22 2026
      In this episode, I talk with Kelton Noyes, a senior technical communicator who started his career in tech support and gradually built his way into documentation. We discuss how to choose documentation tools, practical strategies for making the business case for investing in documentation, and how Kelton successfully advocated for technical writing as a valuable full-time discipline within his organization.—Kelton and I discuss his journey from tech support to technical writing, which began with his frustration at answering the same questions repeatedly. He started creating documentation between support calls to fill gaps he noticed, sharing these resources with coworkers who found them valuable. His managers appreciated the work, but nobody initially recognized documentation as a full-time role. We explore how he eventually made the transition by demonstrating concrete value through metrics like reduced support volume and faster training ramp-up times and shifting the conversation from advocating for the importance of documentation to advocating for himself as the person to do that documentation.We dive deep into Kelton's approach to choosing documentation tools, including how to develop a hierarchy of needs based on customer feedback, organizational requirements, and author workflow. He shares the importance of taking advantage of demos and free trials to explore features hands-on, explaining how requirements often evolve during this exploration process as you discover capabilities you didn't know you needed.We also explore red flags that indicate it's time to reevaluate your tooling, the challenge of finding tools that serve multiple departments, and how to navigate the collaborative aspects of getting organizational buy-in for documentation initiatives.About Kelton Noyes:Kelton Noyes is an English major with a love of technology who spent years trying to find a way to blend the two. He started his career working technical support jobs across a variety of industries, including web hosting, security, data storage, solar, and shipping. Everywhere he went, he found a lack of documentation. Between support calls, he started creating documentation to fill those gaps. He documented workflows and processes that impacted his job and shared them with coworkers, who widely used and appreciated the resources. His managers and coworkers loved the work he was doing, but nobody at the time saw documentation as a full-time role.Fast forward several years to a job interview where the hiring manager recognized the company's need for documentation and loved Kelton's background doing exactly that. Kelton started in tech support to learn the product and began building documentation in his second week. Six years and two promotions later, he's never been happier professionally than he is building documentation full time.When he's not documenting, Kelton enjoys cooking, board games, reading, debating, general handy work, gardening, and playing music.In this episode:[00:01:20]: Kelton's origin story: From English degree to tech support to technical writing[00:02:46]: Current role as senior technical communicator in fintech[00:05:04]: Why "technical communicator" instead of "technical writer"[00:07:28]: Identifying documentation needs from support patterns and customer feedback[00:10:34]: Developing a hierarchy of needs for tool features[00:14:13]: Considering author workflow and collaboration in tool selection[00:19:28]: Using interactive glossary features to reduce support time[00:26:39]: Demonstrating documentation value with metrics[00:30:11]: Finding tools that serve multiple departments without overpromising[00:35:51]: The importance of demos and free trials in tool evaluation[00:41:49]: Making the case for transitioning from support to full-time writer[00:43:33]: Using documentation to reduce training time from three weeks to two weeks[00:54:11]: Building a culture where documentation is valued[01:05:42]: Evolving tooling and documentation standards company-wide[01:09:03]: Red flags that indicate it's time to reevaluate tooling[01:12:17]: Resource recommendation: Sapling's passive voice tools[01:14:32]: Advice: Learn to advocate for yourself and your ideasResources discussed in this episode:Sapling Passive Voice CheckerSapling Passive to Active Sentence RewriterJoin the discussion by replying on Bluesky —Contact The Not-Boring Tech Writer team:We love hearing your ideas for episode topics, guests, or general feedback:Email: tnbtw@knowledgeowl.comthenotboringtechwriter.comLinkedInBlueskyGuest suggestions formContact Kate Mueller:knowledgewithsass.comLinkedInBlueskyContact Kelton Noyes:LinkedInContact KnowledgeOwl:knowledgeowl.comLinkedIn
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      1 h et 17 min
    • Kate sounds off on self-documentation

      Kate sounds off on self-documentation
      Jan 8 2026

      In this solo episode, I share my latest content updates progress (spoiler: I finished my project! 🎉). I also share the new daily check-in Google Form I’m trying, inspired by Kate Pond’s interview (S3:E24), as well as some general thoughts on the power of self-documentation and a call for more intermittent or unofficial tech writing guests.

      —

      I finally finished my project to update the KnowledgeOwl Support Knowledge Base to align with major navigation and UI changes we rolled out in December 2024! 🎉 I updated and archived a ton of articles, completed a tags audit, overhauled our internal guidance on using tags, and submitted a pull request to the Microsoft Entra docs to update their KnowledgeOwl SSO docs. Along the way, I had to trim my scope and toss a lot of additional ideas or changes into a separate backlog list. Now that I’ve completed the project, I’m hoping to work through that separate backlog list as time permits.

      I used Kate Pond’s blog post about her daily check-ins as a strawman to create my own daily check-in Google Form for my work and I share the questions I’m using. I’ll report back on my usage of it in my next solo episode.

      I also share a previously unreleased clip from Kate Pond’s interview in which I describe a form of self-documentation I’ve used in my personal life to manage a chronic illness, many of the benefits to using self-documentation in this way, and some tips for trying it out yourself. I reflect on Kate Pond’s career journey and share what I see as some of the key steps in that journey that others might be able to replicate.

      I close the episode by noting that I’m really trying to include more unofficial or intermittent tech writers like Kate Pond, so if you or someone you know has written documentation without calling yourself a tech writer, please come on the show! Feel free to use our guest suggestions form.


      In this episode:

      • [00:00:00]: Project completion and reflection
      • [00:03:35]: Crafting my new daily check-in
      • [00:11:23]: My Long Covid self-documentation journey
      • [00:15:43]: Benefits of self-documentation
      • [00:20:44]: Strategies for career transitions
      • [00:23:42]: Welcoming more intermittent tech writers


      Resources discussed in this episode:


      • KnowledgeOwl Support Knowledge Base
      • Google Forms for Self-Evaluation
      • S3:E24: Self-documentation for career growth with Kate Pond


      Join the discussion by replying on Bluesky


      —


      Contact The Not-Boring Tech Writer team:


      We love hearing your ideas for episode topics, guests, or general feedback:


      • Email: tnbtw@knowledgeowl.com
      • thenotboringtechwriter.com
      • LinkedIn
      • Bluesky
      • Guest suggestions form


      Contact Kate Mueller:


      • knowledgewithsass.com
      • LinkedIn
      • Bluesky


      Contact KnowledgeOwl:


      • knowledgeowl.com
      • LinkedIn
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      31 min
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