Writing for Software Engineers: Beyond the Basics
Summary
For in-person interviews, for example at a conference, I carry a Zoom H4N Pro, which I’ve had for years; it’s a great product, but you might get away with just using an app on your phone. I have experimented with them, but haven’t found them helpful since the text they produce is too generic and error-prone — the writing equivalent of Muzak or, as consultant Mark Hurst puts it, Polyfilla/spackle. Given their shaky ethical ground, environmental cost and the dangers of hallucinations and plagiarism, I consider LLMs more of a risk than they are worth at this point and won’t use them at all in my writing. Alongside Zinsser, I’d also recommend reading “Writing for Story,” by Jon Franklin, and “Eats, Shoots & Leaves,” by Lynne Truss. I don’t have time to get into SEO matters here, but if the subject interests you I found “Marketing in the Age of Google” helpful; it is a little out of date now but the core advice is solid.