Steve Grayson
I’m a technical writer with 30-years experience and a background in software development. I’ve worked as a programmer writer for 16 of those years. I love being a programmer writer because I get to write concisely and I get to write code. I’ve worked in computer software for over 35 years, and I enjoy continuing to learn new ways of educating developers and customers. My techniques include text, images, animated GIFs, videos, and interactive code examples.
I have worked for Adobe Systems, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services, as well as small business-focused companies including Square. Each company presented challenges on how best to educate developers and customers on new and establishes technologies, APIs, and SDKs.
I believe that the best technical content is written with an eye toward helping people understand quickly, so they can stop reading and get back to the product. So I design, write, and edit technical content that allows people to find it, browse it, read it, and comprehend it.
I have experience with every aspect of technical content, from punctuation to publication. Because I believe that quality technical content should be available to all people in all places on all devices, I create content that can be understood by most readers, whether it gets translated or not. When I’m involved in the content engineering process, I also ensure that the content is available on multiple platforms.
I’ve also written other things:
CBC Radio’s Arthur Black
Grayson manages to leave not one aspect of Gulf Island life unpummeled.
Monday Magazine (Victoria, BC)
“…a short but highly entertaining expose of “the true perils…and wretchedness that comes with Gulf Islands living.” A witty spoof of the ubiquitous travel guide. Rain and Suffering is great for anyone who’s ever spent any time on (or avoiding) the Gulf Islands.”
Victoria Times-Colonist
“Grayson gives Edenphiles a gentle poke, not a deafening wake-up call. “I wanted to go for the absurd.” Make that the absurd with a touch of truth. With Rain and Suffering in your back pocket, you’ll never look at a Saltspring farm the same way again.”
Gabriola Island Sounder
“Raincoat pocket-sized and a ferry-ride read (rain and ferries are recurring themes of horror), the author dismisses Gulf Island allure as a sinister myth. The book is ‘free from essential travel tips and detailed fold-out maps. There are no opinionated reviews of restaurants, pubs or theatre productions. Let’s face it; you’ve been lied to enough.’”
Gulf Islands Driftwood
“Grayson, an otherwise fairly normal fellow, seems to possess an uncanny genius for capturing every single thing we love to hate about our island home, taking it firmly in hand, pumping it full of laughing gas, and laying it out in the form of a ‘guide book’ for any visitor manifestly unfortunate
enough to land on these shores.” “In short, Grayson has created a kind of classic of instantly recognizable outrageous overstatement—the sort of prose that should grace every home on any of the Gulf Islands….”
Island Tides
“This lightweight tome will fit easily into a pocket or packsack, and will provide a deadly diversion for the visitor.” “This cute little volume, written by a dyspeptic misanthrope and published out of frustration and a little vengeance, is just the thing to give as a present to your relatives who show alarming signs of visiting you on your Island or, worse still, moving nearby.”
There has also been a play, various ghost-written articles, and let’s not forget something else.