Here's what wikiHow can teach every tech author
wikiHow can teach authors all about the magical power of structure. All
wikiHow articles follow a standard format:
- Introduction
- Ingredients
- Steps
- Tips
- Warnings
- Required items
- Related how-tos
This is all about the magical power of structure. Taking this approach means it's virtually impossible to suffer from writer's block. As long as you've chosen what you're trying to teach, it's easy to fill in the blanks and create at least an adequate tutorial.
Even better, because the structure is so clear, it's easy for contributors to add more tips, more warnings, or modify the steps. More contributors = more information, but won't lead to the breakdown of clarity that you get on WikiPedia.
If you're writing a book then make your life easy and follow this example. Put your headings in first, and then "fill in the gaps".
With Packt Beginners' Guides we use "Time for Action" as our "steps" heading. Really that's just about style and making Beginners' Guides distinctive. The principle of dividing up your content according to type (steps, tips, warnings, etc.) will work for any style or series.
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