Sharp Words

Apologies to anyone who’s been waiting for this post! Things have been much too busy for me with work. Hopefully I can get back to posting more frequently some time soon.

The first part of this series of posts (Why technical writing? #1) discussed why technical writers are needed. In this one, I’m going to talk about why someone might want to be a technical writer.

2. What makes a good technical writer?

In my opinion, to be a technical writer, you need…

… a good grasp of the English language (or whichever language you’re writing in, of course). You need to know enough about grammar and style to be able to differentiate between the active and passive voices, between tenses, between persons (first, second, third). You need to know the difference between formal and informal writing, and the cases in which each is appropriate. You need to know how to use different forms of punctuation, and a lot more besides… but don’t panic, a lot of this is written in various style guides (hopefully you’d have a specific one for your company or client) which outline the correct use of which and that, and other such concepts.

… the ability to learn things fast simply because you could be documenting one product this week, and another next week. Tech writers also very often have to learn particular software tools such as FrameMaker, Adobe Acrobat, RoboHelp or Author-It - it’s not all just typing things in Microsoft Word! - and it helps to be able to get to grips with these quickly as well as with whatever you’re documenting (be it software or hardware or business processes or something else entirely). As someone new to technical writing, you’d have to learn a whole host of writing and editing techniques as well, such as indexing and proof-reading.

… technical knowledge because, after all, you’re a technical writer. However, as long as you can use a computer and have the wits to understand a manual written by someone else, and as long as you can learn fast (see the previous point), technical knowledge is something that can be picked up with the job. Not that many of the technical writers I know personally started out as computer programmers or engineers, although it wouldn’t be that uncommon a route into technical writing. I’d rather take on a new technical writer with good writing skills but flaky technical ones, than one with the opposite.

… an eye for detail so that you can proof-read and review and format and adhere to style guidelines. Being picky and pedantic isn’t a must (and can get pretty gruesome when you’re in a team where everyone’s like that) but it can definitely help.

… the ability to evaluate, understand and summarise information since that’s basically what the job’s all about: translating from technical language into something that’s more accessible and readable for users.

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? And it is. I came into technical writing by accident; I was good at English at school and I’m exceedingly pedantic, but I’d studied sciences at A level and university, and then gone on to work in IT support. As part of that job, I did have to write some Dummies manuals for newcomers to some of the software we supported, and I enjoyed doing that very much. When I finally became a technical writer, I knew I’d found the right career for me: a chance to both exercise my English skills and to play with computers, and I’d get paid for it! Heaven….