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.
In documentation aimed at highly technical end-users, such as a
semiconductor data sheet or a milling machine user's guide, it's a handicap
for the client if the writer doesn't share the background of the end-users.
Basic writing tasks are greatly hampered, such as selecting what material
stays and what goes, or what to explain and what to assume the reader knows
already.
When I was in college, I spent one summer autoclaving glassware and other
simple tasks in a biochemistry lab. I tried to learn what was going on
around me, but with one year of college chemistry under my belt, I didn't
have the basic concepts of anyone's research. They were all trying to figure
out whether a side effect of a process I didn't understand were in
incomprehensible category A or incomprehensible category B, using techniques
that took advantage of some obscure but controllable side effect of it all
as a way of getting a handle on it.
I'd have been sunk if I'd had to write up what was going on in the lab. I
didn't have the background for it. My role would have become DTP plus a stab
at editorial services. Someone else would have to do all the actual writing.
On the other hand, when someone wants me to document something within my
competence, such documenting a chip or just about anything aimed at system
administrators, I don't need much help from SME's. An initial orientation,
all of the specifications and marketing materials, answers to specific
questions, and careful reviewing are all I ask.
A lot of people think this is well worth paying for, since the load that's
removed from the engineers in this way allows quite a bit of product
development to go on.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Last chance to order RoboHelp X3 and receive a $100 mail-in rebate,
PLUS free RoboScreenCapture and WebHelp Merge Module. Offer expires
4/30/03! Order here: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
Help celebrate TECHWR-L's 10th Anniversary starting this month!
Check out the contests at http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/special/contests/
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday TECHWR-L....
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
