Writing Day

Writing Day

Each year we run an event called the Writing Day during the conference. This event is modeled after the concept of sprints, which are common in open-source conferences. The main premise is to get a bunch of interesting people in a room together and have them work towards shared goals.

To make the most out of the Writing Day, we recommend that you either come with a project, or be ready and willing to contribute to someone else’s project.

Here are some examples of projects that you might want to work on:

  • Open source software documentation
  • General documentation writing
  • Best practices manual (For your company, or the world)
  • Blog posts
  • Tips and tricks
  • Great works of fiction
  • Love letters
  • The Documentarian Manifesto

You get the idea.

All this adds up to a room full of smart people sharing your problems, your passion, and your goals. So be ready to learn some new things and to teach others what you know.

Even if you feel as though you don’t know that much, we know you have a lot to offer. Come surprise yourself with how much you can share.

Documenting a new project?

Check out our beginners guide to writing documentation. This should help you get started, and give you some ideas for how you can contribute to a project that you love.

Logistics

Please bring a computer or some other mechanism with which to create written words. We’ll be creating and editing content, so make sure that you have the tools you need to contribute.

Schedule

  • Date & Time: Sunday, June 2, 10:00-18:00
  • Location: Vilnius, University of Social Sciences

Projects

Write the Docs

This year we’re also running a session where you can help improve your favorite website. Yup, you can brainstorm on improvements, write helpful content and posts, or just magically improve Write the Docs.

If you’re writing text to add to the website, ideally you’ll already be familiar with GitHub and writing in plain text (markdown or restructured text), but we’ll be there to help out if you’re not.

Help develop the Documentation Guide

Help reorganize the guide content, or write and edit topics. Check out Documentation guide ahead of time and bring your ideas to the table!

Fix website issues

We have a list of issues on GitHub tagged as writingday that includes things like:

  • fix broken links (we have a lot of these)
  • add list of conference write ups for past conferences

Consultant Toolkit

Collaborate to assemble a toolkit for consultant or freelance documentarians.

Possible materials include: - Contract templates - Business planning documents - Workflow plans and checklists for starting a new project

Possible challenges include: - Produce templates in multiple formats

To get started I have created a repo here.