Last week I started a new job.  Well, more like a new old job.  I’ve taken a position as a survey coordinator with a former employer.  I have the distinct pleasure of working again with a group of people that I respect and like.  There are some new faces, of course, but overall it’s a great group and I’m happy to be back with them.  The downside is I haven’t written for my blog since starting my new job until now.  I have been writing, however.  Check out The Writer’s Resource Center and see all my long comments to John Hewitt‘s latest series on becoming a technical writer.  He’s using a new style that I think is working very well.  He ends his post with a few questions, and that’s what does me in.  Although I’m not a technical writer, John and I apparently have enough work experience in common that I can’t help but write essays in responding to his questions.  I hope he doesn’t get tired of hearing from me :-)

John’s new series and my new job are leading to me rethink this blog.  I want to stay focused on writing, but I don’t want to just rehash what everyone else in the blogosphere is saying about writing.  My new old job is in the field of public health, and I think there’s a lot to say about that field.  In particular, how to write about public health:

• how to write reports that may have a widely diverse audience (general public as well as public health professionals)
• how to integrate public health statistics in a way meaningful to the lay person
• when and how to use graphics, figures, and tables
• how to decide on what public health topics to write about

If you work in the public health field, or have an interest in public health, please leave a comment or email me directly with any suggestions you might have for my blog.

And, as always, thanks for stopping by!