About John Hewitt
Contact John Hewitt for Writing or Web Consulting
Email: hewitt@poewar.com
Phone/SMS: (520) 261-6104
LinkedIn: poewar
Twitter: @poewar
Facebook: pwar2
I am a writer in my early forties. My professional career now spans twenty years. In my early post-college days I worked as a lobbyist and as a newspaper editor. I haven’t done either of these things for many years though. In the mid nineties I began a career as a technical writer. I have done that off and on ever since. In the early 2000s I went back to school and augmented my original B.A. in Creative Writing with a Master’s Degree in English and a Postgraduate Certification in Professional Writing. To that extent, I know what I am doing.
In addition to my professional writing career, I write fiction and poetry. I enjoy doing these things and I feel as if I have some solid general skills, but I am not a bestselling writer or poet. For the most part, I have never tried to be. I occasionally work as a freelance writer for various publications, but because I have my own (fairly well read) web site, most of my writing appears here. I appreciate those people who come to read my work here and I hope that some of my advice articles have been helpful to you. If you feel my qualifications don’t match your requirements in an “expert” I certainly understand. I write because it interests me.
Below, I am including my professional resume. If it interests you and you would like to work with me on a project, contact me at:
John Hewitt
Education
Northern Arizona University – Master’s degree in English with a Professional Writing Certification
University Of Arizona – Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing
Skills
Writing
Online help systems, wikis, usability analysis, application-based help systems, websites, blogs, user guides, data sheets, installation guides, quick start guides, tutorials and training materials, reference manuals, technical marketing collateral, service-level agreements, project plans, business plans, proposals, annual reports
Web Development
HTML, SGML, CSS, XML, WordPress, MediaWiki, FrontPage, DreamWeaver, RoboHelp
Desktop Publishing
Microsoft Office, Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe PageMaker, Adobe Acrobat, ID Workbench
Graphics
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Paint Shop Pro, Visio, Corel Draw
Databases / Content Management Systems
Microsoft Access, FileMaker Pro, MySQL, Documentum, Lotus Notes, SharePoint, AuthorIt
Employment History
2006-2009 TSYS Acquiring Solutions – Senior Technical Writer
Wrote, edited and published user documentation for credit card transaction software aimed at major banks and retailers. Developed templates for and imported documents to the AuthorIt content management and documentation publishing system. Created and modified wireframes for user interface modeling using DreamWeaver and InDesign. Worked closely with the training staff to improve training collateral and coordinate our separate documentation development processes.
2006 Canyon Ranch Health Spas – Contract Technical Support
Solved software issues and provided support for a base of 700 users. Supported and used applications such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Active Directory, CLS, and SBT. Created a knowledgebase for common help issues.
2004-2005 Intel – Contract Technical Writer
Revised technical documents requiring branding updates. Edited and formatted product specification documents and graphics created by engineers and other subject matter experts.
2002 Intuit – Contract Information Developer
Redesigned and re-categorized the TurboTax online help system for increased usability and customer satisfaction. Wrote online help material for the TurboTax product line.
2000-2001 Intel – Contract Information Developer
Designed and developed an intranet site for the Intel FAB Construction Group. The new site combined the functions of multiple legacy sites into a single interface with dramatically increased usability.
1998-2000 IBM – Technical Writer / Team Lead
Oversaw team in the creation of a seven book documentation suite for Tivoli Removable Media Manager. Wrote and coded the HTML-based help interface for the product.
1997-1998 Motorola – Contract Technical Writer
Wrote service level agreements and documented standard operating procedures. Was part of the development team for the SAP disaster recovery plan.
1996-1997 HealthPartners Health Plans – Contract Technical Writer
Documented over 200 report generation programs for medical databases that had been developed using Amisys and SpeedWare for the HP/3000.
1991-1994 Public Policy Associates – Lobbyist / Database Developer
Helped draft laws, policies and regulations on behalf of medical and dental organizations, charities, and tribal governments. Developed databases for bill tracking, form submission, and reporting.
1989-1991 University of Arizona – Systems Trainer / Courseware Librarian
Taught computer application seminars to university faculty and staff. Maintained a software testing library and consulted with users about how to best meet their software needs.
