What’s a technical writer?
Many jobs these days involve writing. Authors write books. Journalists write articles. And almost everyone writes emails. The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines technical writers as people who “prepare instruction manuals, how-to guides, journal articles, and other supporting documents to communicate complex and technical information more easily.” I jokingly describe the job as translating geeks to non-geeks.
There are lots of books that attempt to “communicate complex and technical information more easily”, but not every book does this. A novel isn’t a technical document, and technical writers don’t typically write book-length documents. If they do, they’re usually meant to be reference documents, not the sort of book you sit down and read cover-to-cover in one go and then never look at again.
A journalist can be thought of as a type of technical writer, but if they’re writing for a general-circulation newspaper, they’re not going into much detail and thus their writing isn’t very technical. On the other hand, a journalist working for a specialized publication like Astronomy Magazine would be much more technical. Another common difference between technical writers and authors is that authors are usually named and technical writers are usually anonymous. But let’s think of the line between journalism and technical writing as a fuzzy one.
Another thing that differentiates technical writers from other careers that involve writing is that the technical writer’s primary job is to communicate. A scientist who writes an article for a scholarly journal is primarily a scientist. But because so many jobs involve technical writing, it’s an important skill to develop even if your title isn’t technical writer.
What makes a good technical writer?
The basis for technical writing is writing, and the basis for writing is language. It should be obvious that you need to be very fluent in whatever language you’re writing in. That doesn’t mean you need to have a huge vocabulary, because you don’t want to use words that your audience doesn’t understand. But you do need to make sure you don’t misuse words and you need to use good grammar in your writing (i.e. you know the difference between there, their, and they’re).
Another really important trait of a technical writer is being able to learn new topics quickly. Many technical writers do not have a formal education in the field they’re writing about. Some do, and this can be tremendously helpful, but it can also pigenhole you into a certain field. It can also be harder to write for a general audience if you’re so enmeshed in a field that you don’t realize when you’re using jargon.
Your task in learning new topics will be aided by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). These are the people (usually fellow employees) you go to with questions. Another skill that’s important for technical writers is to be able to develop a good rapport with SMEs. Invariably, a deadline will change and you’ll have to do something in a hurry. And if you need a question answered in a hurry, you want to have a good relationship with your SME(s).
Lastly, a good technical writer needs to have an eye for detail. Some technical writers may have the benefit of working with a separate editor. But an editor can’t be expected to know if you’ve explained something fully or correctly. It’s common practice to have SMEs review your work, but they are not always the most careful reviewers. Ultimately it’s you that is expected to notice that one strange checkbox in the Settings screen for the application you’re documenting, or to ask what happens if the expected input isn’t received.
If you’re a technical writer and think there are other traits that are important, please share them.