TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
It's important for a good technical writer to have which of the following
skills and abilities:
1. Command of English grammar, spelling, and usage in writing readble
sentences and topics.
2. Ability to follow group standards and processes faithfully, and create
new ones, if necessary.
3. Thorough understanding of technical content after research, including
reading technical materials, technical subject matter expert interviews, and
personal system experimentation.
4. Ability to analyze audience needs and write to those needs.
5. Willingness to user-test design concepts and documents.
6. Ability to accept criticism without excessive defensiveness and reflexive
personal attacks on critics.
7. Competent use of grahics, white space, headings, and other formal
elements to communicate subject matter.
8. All of the above.
Do we really have to have endless discussions about standards/processes
versus content? I believe if a tech writer doesn't understand the content
before writing, it's unprofessional. If he/she writes inconsistently
(without standards), it's unprofessional. If a writer refuses to follow
group standards set by a client or project manager, it's unemployment! On
the other hand, if a writer follows all the formal standards but can't write
logically and clearly about technical topics, it's also unemployment.
I think there are times and places to question existing standards and their
suitability for a project: during the requirements and design phases and
after feedback from users. Writers working alone have to make these
decisions alone, but with feedback from clients and users. Writers working
in teams have to follow agreed-upon standards; or the end products, which
are often parts of the same document or series, look like they were all done
by the proverbial monkeys with the typewriters before they get to the
Shakespeare. (You know, the ones who, if there are an infinite number of
them, can produce the complete works of Shakespeare.)
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