I'd Rather Be Writing » breaking in http://idratherbewriting.com The Latest Trends in Technical Communication Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:26:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 More Students Questions about Technical Writing http://idratherbewriting.com/2010/09/07/more-students-questions-about-technical-writing/ http://idratherbewriting.com/2010/09/07/more-students-questions-about-technical-writing/#comments Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:12 +0000 Tom Johnson http://idratherbewriting.com/?p=7455 more »]]> Download MP3
Length: 12 min.

In this podcast (another monologue), I respond to more student questions about technical writing. The questions are as follows:

  1. Question 1 – Who/what are the people and purposes that you write for now? And in the past?
  2. Question 2 – What are the kinds of things that you write?
  3. Question 3 – What are the processes, methods, practices you use to write those things?
  4. Question 4 – What are the technologies you use and how do you use them?

photo by Marco Belluci

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]]> http://idratherbewriting.com/2010/09/07/more-students-questions-about-technical-writing/feed/ 0 Moving into Technical Writing — A DICE Article and More Links http://idratherbewriting.com/2010/07/22/use-your-it-experience-to-move-into-technical-writing/ http://idratherbewriting.com/2010/07/22/use-your-it-experience-to-move-into-technical-writing/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:42:06 +0000 Tom Johnson http://idratherbewriting.com/?p=7001 more »]]> How to break into technical writing is one of the most common questions readers ask. (If you wrote a book entirely on this subject, I’m sure you’d sell regular copies.) Recently a journalist interviewed me and others (Jack Molisani, Mike Hughes, and Andrea Ames) on this topic. He published his article, called Use Your IT Experience to Move into Technical Writing, in DICE.

I have only a small quote at the end. In one of my responses about tools, I must have mumbled Camtasia in a way that sounded like Fantasia. (But I admit the latter sounds like a more fun tool to use.)

The article includes excellent research and information for breaking into technical writing.  For those looking to break into technical writing, I also have an entire section on my blog dedicated to this topic. Breaking into Technical Writing (as a Student or Transitioning from Another Career) lists more than a dozen links with information on how to transition into technical writing. If you have more to add to my list, please send me them.

As a side note, the DICE writer who interviewed me is interested in moving into technical writing himself. So if you know of a company near San Jose, California looking to hire a new technical writer with excellent writing skills, let me know and I’ll put you in contact with him.

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]]> http://idratherbewriting.com/2010/07/22/use-your-it-experience-to-move-into-technical-writing/feed/ 6 “How can I become a successful TECHNICAL WRITER?” http://idratherbewriting.com/2008/06/15/how-can-i-become-a-successful-technical-writer/ http://idratherbewriting.com/2008/06/15/how-can-i-become-a-successful-technical-writer/#comments Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:42:36 +0000 Tom Johnson http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=1572 more »]]> K. writes,

Dear Mr. Tom Johnson,

I am a Post Graduate in English. Recently I am working in a leading public house as writer. How can I become a successful TECHNICAL WRITER?

Please reply me as soon as possible.

K.

Dear K,

The best thing you can do to develop your skills and ability with technical writing is to actually do some technical writing. Find an open source project, such as WordPress.org or Pligg, and write some documentation for it. Most open source projects have poor documentation, so they provide excellent opportunities.

When you finish your user guide or online help, ask someone on a technical writing listserv (like TECHWR-L) to review it. Someone will probably give you excellent feedback. Make a few updates, polish it up, and use it as the technical writing sample in your portfolio. Nothing gets you more familiar with technical writing than actually doing technical writing.

Tom

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