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Quickly Getting into Technical Writing

By Clinton R. Lanier, on 25-08-2008 20:19  

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I don't know if it's the economy or what, but I've had student after student beating down my office door asking me how they can get into technical writing. Some want to switch from a tech-related degree and some are getting ready to graduate and are hoping to expand their options.

Understand that technical writing is not simply writing well and knowing about technology. There was a time, up until about 10 years ago, when that's all one needed to get into the field. Anyone with an English degree and a fair amount of knowledge about technology could get a job as a tech writer. Likewise, anyone who knew a lot about technology and could put together a decent sentence could also get a (lower paying) job as a tech writer.

Heck, when I went to work for IBM there were three people on staff who had been moved up from administrative assistant, and one who was moved up from the assembly line because of his writing ability.

In addition to knowledge about technology and the ability to write well, tech writers have also been erroneously seen in the past as "tool jockeys" (people who "know" a bunch of different types of software tools).

Times, however, have changed dramatically. As technical writing has grown into a "legitimate" profession (whatever that is), employers have recognized the different skills that separate real technical writers from tool jockeys or people who simply know technology and write well.

So to break into technical writing from another major, there are two primary considerations: education and experience.

Education
If you want to quickly ramp up on your training, start by looking for some basic online courses on technical writing. What you want are the fundamentals that help you understand the differences between technical writing and other types of writing. We aren't talking a whole program or degree or anything, but some short, 5-week long, basic classes. For short classes like these, look at private schools that emphasize online learning.

Another tip is to start reading some of the books about the area you want to focus on. These will not only help you understand the differences between technical writing and other types of writing, but will also highlight specific topics in your area of interest. There's a world of difference between grant writing and software development.

Look at technical documentation as models of what you intend to write. This sounds utterly dry and boring, but what better way to understand what the product is supposed to look like. What's missing from this step is understanding why the document looks this way. To find this out, a good idea is to make contact with tech writers and ask them. You can do this through networking sites, like the local STC chapter, or through a local school with a tech writing program.

As far as technology goes, there's no avoiding the fact that you must learn and "know" certain tools--especially depending on what type of writing you want to focus on. If you hope to write sofware documentation, then tools like Adobe FrameMaker and RoboHelp will be needed, but for many others you can get away with simply knowing MS Word. However, when I say "know" MS Word, I mean have a pro's knowledge about it: how to create templates, styles, etc. As for the others (the FrameMakers and Flares and so forth), my advice is to get a good working knowledge of only one: don't worry about knowing all of them. If you know FrameMaker well enough, chances are you can easily learn a similar tool, and most employers know that.

A lot of these tools are pretty expensive, so there are a few ways to avoid having to go broke learning them. In the case of many of them you can download a 30-day trial version. That done you have a month to complete the tutorial included and really get a good grasp of the technology. There is an open-source software tool for creating online help, called HelpMaker. Again, the idea is to understand that tool well enough to port the knowledge to whatever the employer is using.

In addition to these tools there will be a thousand other items you can possibly try to learn in the meantime: XHTML, CSS, programming languages, XML, graphic design programs (like PhotoShop), etc. Try to learn what you can. As you look for a job, learn more. In fact, this is something you should never stop doing.

Experience
Technical writing is an applied discipline. Thus, when you attempt to get a job in the field, potential employers will expect that you've actually practiced technical writing and can prove it through examples. Portfolios, either the virtual kind or the traditional 3-ring binder versions, can often land you a job. So if you're trying to break into it from another major, you need to begin pulling examples of work together to show that you've completed technical writing-like projects before.

This may be easier than you think. If you're a computer programmer, surely you've written API's or Readme files before. These are both emblematic of internal documentation that tech writers are increasinlgy designing. Further, reports, business correspondence, web pages, etc., can also be used. But, you absolutely must ensure that the examples are of a high quality, and you must be prepared to talk about them and the writing or designing aspect of their creation (as opposed to the technology they may be about). If you're unsure about their quality take them to a tech writer or tech writing instructor and have them evaluated. Fix the mistakes or make them better and then include them.

Another good idea is to begin finding projects to work on gratis to build your experience. I always advise students get on to an open source software project, which are usually chock full of good programmers but no writers for doc support. You can also look at local non-profits that may need someone to help design brochures, correspondence or grant proposals.

Finally, a recent study of mine (forthcoming in Technical Communication, 2009) suggests that employers are want ever-specialized technical writers, instead of the generalists advertised for even five years ago. So, as I'm sure you already have guessed, if you are already specialized in a particular field, highlight this knowledge. If you're a programmer, don't suddenly try to shift into pharmaceuticals, and visa versa.

I hope these suggestions help. I know there is a lot of information here--and that's considering the volumes I left out. But I think this underscores something. Technical communication--technical writing, graphic design, technical editing, whatever--is not something with which most people can in no time begin a career. As I said earlier, at one time this was true, but it's not anymore. Technical communication has become a legitimate discipline, and is growing more specialized and rigorous every year. The amount of knowledge one must know to be really good in this industry is sometimes daunting. I say this not to discourage anyone, but only to help them understand that it may take more work than some originally thought.

Last update: 25-08-2008 20:19

Keywords : what's needed to start technical writing
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Using Old School Web Design

By Clinton R. Lanier, on 24-08-2008 21:39  

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In her book, Retro, Elizabeth E. Guffey tries her best to define a pretty complicated concept. Tracing the history of both the term and the notion, she roughly suggests that it’s a movement which looks back at the recent past with a sort of detached, dark amusement. It has, she tells us, become a component in most areas engaging social and popular culture today, from mixed drinks and art, to automobiles and movies. It is interesting to ponder, then, when it will be associated with web design. And not in the sense of using cultural elements of the past—images of Marilyn Monroe or black-and-white Flash videos with a grainy look to them—but rather using past design elements and techniques.  

The last two decades have seen immense changes in web design. One of the design trends in the 1990’s was to fill in every piece of a webpage not occupied by text with animated gifs. We don’t see much of those anymore. Likewise gone are most of the sites with the long scrolling pages, jammed with a novel’s worth of text and unassociated images (and, of course, the requisite animated gifs).

The disappearance of elements like these was brought on as a result of advancements in technology, research findings, or simply because of changes in style and taste. Technology allowed new and different methods to be used. Hence, animated gifs were traded for Flash-type animation. And research demonstrated that information able to fit on a single screen—with less content and a balance between useful images and text—was easier for a reader to access than were five thousand lines of information on a single, scrolling page.

The last element—trends in style and taste—is equally (if not more) responsible for the changes in web design than the other two. For example, people find rounded corners on content elements visually appealing. There’s no research to show that this style of corner improves understanding. And though made possible through technological advancements—CSS or JavaScript—they were not a “technological breakthrough” by any means. So, these rounded corners are a trend, seen on many websites, and indicative of the Web 2.0 movement: a movement in design and style as much as it is a movement in web site usability.

And why not? After all, web design has much in common with other types of design, like product design, fashion, or architecture. Each of these trades either follows or creates trends in the design of their respective products. Fashion designers will try to catch the latest trends in style through the clothing they create. Product designers, likewise, are influenced by trends in popular culture when creating everything from furniture to automobiles. And architects create structures resembling other structures within a current movement or style.

Present in these other disciplines—fashion, product design, and architecture—is the influence of previous styles and trends—the retro movements Guffey tries to define. Designers will often turn to what was popular in the past when creating future designs.

Last update: 24-08-2008 21:39

Keywords : retro web design
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Writing Blog Content as Technical Writing

By Clinton R. Lanier, on 24-08-2008 19:54  

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I have a couple of students who are looking to get experience in technical writing before they graduate. Good idea, right? Except they plan on answering ads for "content technical writer" positions which ask them to research and write original content for blogs. For each article they'll get paid $10-20.00.

My question is this: will such experience really do them any good?

After all, this site is a blog, and though I'm proud of all the hard work I've put into it, I wouldn't put it on my resume if I was looking for another job (well okay I would if I had a few thousand hits a day). So how valuable is such experience and is can it really be considered technical writing?

Let's take each of these questions in turn.

In regards to the first one, I can see good and bad elements to writing for blogs. In the first place, many are viewed by thousands of visitors. So if the article includes the "by" line, the potential for getting a name out there is quite good. This type of experience is also good for students to learn things like deadlines and critical assessment of their work. Although they're in school, deadlines and criticism in the workplace are often much harsher than the same in academia, where the trend is to support and help students, not bash them for a poorly written article. The research skills they use and learn will also be useful. As I found in my first professional jobs, being able to research is one of the most valuable skills a tech writer can have.

However, on the flip side are some real negatives. First of all, many would argue that irregardless of what the content consists, this type of writing is creative non-fiction. Writing content articles for most blogs is about using buzzwords and keywords so they can easily be found by search mechanisms (though I'm really bad about doing this). It's about making someone else money more than it is about informing an audience.

But if you use my general definition of technical writing (the practice of effectively relaying information to a specific audience) they in fact are practicing tech writing, just not the more traditional kind.

Another downfall is that the tools and methods used are not consistent with what is most often used in industry. This type of writing doesn't give one experience in FrameMaker or RoboHelp. It MIGHT give someone experience in some web-based tools and technologies but even this is doubtful. Most often writers will use blog-specific tools like Wordpress.

My advice to these students is to take these jobs if they like to write, research, and if they would like the extra money. But otherwise don't count on these types of jobs as "technical writing experience."

Last update: 24-08-2008 19:59

Keywords : technical writing experience
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How to Use Color in Your Documents

By Clinton R. Lanier, on 17-05-2008 22:34

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People often use colors in their documents in the wrong ways. Many students think that bright colors should be used in a document when they want to attract someone’s eye to a place on the page. Colors alone, however, should be used in synch with white space, font size, type and placement of whatever it is you want someone to be attracted to. Furthermore, just because something is filled with a bright color does not mean that it is eye-catching or attractive. True, bright colors will quickly draw the eye there, but use colors in a way that will make the eye stay there, not glance away in disgust.

Last update: 24-08-2008 20:46

Keywords : technical writing guides
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Web Design: Font and Page Size

By Clinton R. Lanier, on 13-05-2008 11:52

Views : 180    

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I want to spend some time on a series of articles on web design usability practices. I call this series, the HTML Museum. I hope to update it with articles that address past web design practices and why they are no longer in use.The first exhibit deals with font, text and page size.

Last update: 24-08-2008 20:47

Keywords : technical writing guides
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