CREATIVE WRITING

White papers

One of Dr. Purdy’s best skills is the ability to write a ‘white paper’ about a product or service for a client. He has been called a ‘technology translator’ by many clients because of his knack ability to take a complicated technology and translate that into a more easy-to-understand essay.

A white paper is longer than a column. It ranges between  10 and 30 pages and includes a number of charts and graphs. These are always on a particular subject. I sometimes rewrite part of a white paper and make it become a column that I then distribute to my audience.  

Columns

I have been writing around 50 columns a year for the past 10 years and in a sporadic basis since the early 1990s. Each column:

• Is typically 800 to 1,500 words 

• Has a similar format each week made up of:

  • A title that is meant to identify the topic

  • A sub-title that summarizes the column for people who want to know what the column is about but may not have enough time to read the whole column, 

  • An image that gives a visual image of the topic

  • The column that explains the title in more detail

• Is written in a ‘technology folk’ style that is personable, inviting and easy to understand