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Re: Damnit Jim, I'm a technical writer, not a writer!
Subject:Re: Damnit Jim, I'm a technical writer, not a writer! From:Tothscribe -at- aol -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 10 Jul 2001 08:36:12 EDT
I'd responded to Bruce off-list, but this message makes me think that I need to make my point a little more clearly on-list.
>Professionally, I love to hear tech-writers insist
>that they're just writers. It lessens the competition
and
>there is something wrong with lacking the willingness
>to expand your technical knowledge, especially if
>you're a technical writer.
First, let me clarify the personal situation. It's not that I'm unwilling to learn how to program. I have tried to learn it. In a word, I suck.
I could spend a lot of time and stress learning how to be a bad programmer, or I could admit that I do one thing well (write) and see how I can expand my career that way. Which leads to:
Second, there are SO many other things that technical writers do rather than explain software. (I believe someone else has already said this?) Under the guise of "technical writing" I have:
- written software manuals
- designed training classes for COTs software
- designed online training for processes
- written quick start & how-to brochures
- designed web pages
- written advertisements
- drafted RFPs
- drafted grant proposals
All of it came under the handy catch all title "technical writing." Only two of these jobs required any understanding of code, and then only if you stretch "code" to include the very basic HTML.
Based on this, I have decided to "expand my technical knowledge." I've taken classes and read lots of books about information design, grant writing, writing commercial scripts, training, and even rhetorical persuasion. By Christmas I should have a MS in Professional Writing.
My point is that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Why stress out trying to learn to do something badly at best, when you can make yourself so much happier and employable by expanding what you are good at instead? On that far off day when only programming writers are allowed to call themselves "technical" writers I will still be happily writing. All I have to do is throw my portfolio down and say "I've written a manual, a training guide, and an advertising brochure for this shareware, plus drafted a grant request for research funding for the programmer. Hire me, and I'll do the same for you."
In the meantime, I need to get back to my current job, which is, ironically, for the tech support department. I'm surrounded by people who code beautifully - but none of 'em could design a useful website or Ops Man!
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