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Words in progress

Words in progress

By Christine Cawthorne and Robert Mills

Hello lovely listener, welcome to an ongoing conversation between Christine and Rob, two people who write for a living and for pleasure.

We’re currently working together on a website project - Rob as a content designer and Christine doing the content strategy.

In this series we talk through the challenges that crop up – and how we get through them.
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Currently playing episode

Episode 2: Writing the first piece of content

Words in progressFeb 28, 2022

00:00
39:13
Episode 10: The project retro - what went well and what could have been better?

Episode 10: The project retro - what went well and what could have been better?

Rob and Christine reflect on the project, discussing what went well and what could have been better.  Expect introspection as the pair look back over their work and decisions. Transcript for episode 8. Episode music credit: Give A Little by Shane Ivers.
Feb 10, 202354:12
Episode 9: How do you finish a project?

Episode 9: How do you finish a project?

Christine is thinking about setting up a content community of practice while Rob reflects on how the pair and trio writing processes are being embedded into the organisation.  Transcript for episode 8. Episode music credit: Give A Little by Shane Ivers.
Sep 14, 202234:43
Episode 8: Getting stakeholders to fact check content

Episode 8: Getting stakeholders to fact check content

Rob defines what he does - and doesn't - want the subject matter experts to check and Christine has started bringing all the parts of the content strategy together.  Transcript for episode 8. Episode music credit: Give A Little by Shane Ivers.
Sep 07, 202236:58
Episode 7: A crisis of confidence

Episode 7: A crisis of confidence

Christine's worried she is just rearranging mess into a different order while trying to improve the content creation workflow and Rob sets boundaries over stakeholder engagement and his remit.  Transcript for episode 7.  Episode music credit: Give A Little by Shane Ivers.
Aug 31, 202248:59
Episode 6: *Special edition* All about the trio writing technique

Episode 6: *Special edition* All about the trio writing technique

Rob discusses how he adapted the pair writing technique to work for translating content. Along with a translator and a user researcher, he created user centred content in two languages, using the translation process to improve the original content. A fantastic listen about using an existing technique in a different situation.  Transcript for episode 6.  Episode music credit: Give A Little by Shane Ivers.
Aug 24, 202226:44
Episode 5: Who has the authority?

Episode 5: Who has the authority?

Rob's been mapping user journeys with stakeholders and Christine wonders if she has the authority to make improvements to the content creation process? Transcript for episode five.  Episode music credit: Give A Little by Shane Ivers.
Aug 17, 202244:38
Episode 4: Suddenly it's all happening

Episode 4: Suddenly it's all happening

This week Rob reveals how he's going to write content with not one but two other people, Christine ponders what you do when scope creep threatens and both reflect on their bumpy sprint planning session.  Transcript for episode 4. Episode music credit: Give A Little by Shane Ivers.
Apr 19, 202240:18
Episode 3: The reader is in trouble

Episode 3: The reader is in trouble

This week, Christine worries she hasn't done a lot while Rob has feedback on his content and user research to go through.  In this episode we mention two pieces of research and a book: The Public Speaks: An Empirical Study of Legal Communication The Public Speaks, Again: An International Study of Legal Communication The Elements of Style by William Strunk and EB White (1959) Transcript for episode 3. Episode music credit: Give A Little by Shane Ivers.
Mar 04, 202240:40
Episode 2: Writing the first piece of content

Episode 2: Writing the first piece of content

Rob's started on the first piece of content while Christine's been working on the website proposition.  Transcript for episode 2. Episode music credit: Give A Little by Shane Ivers.
Feb 28, 202239:13
Episode 1: Getting started on a new project

Episode 1: Getting started on a new project

Christine and Rob introduce themselves, the project they're working on and get right into the nitty gritty of what to do at the start of a content project.  Transcript for episode 1. Episode music credit: Give A Little by Shane Ivers. 
Feb 28, 202226:55