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.
My first-ever post to the TECHWR-L, in response to
Sean's question about "creative" writers who moved
into technical writing.
I'm one of those -- sort of. I'm a former journalist.
One of my biggest strengths in that field was writing
non-fiction narrative, ie: storytelling. Although it's
non-fiction, you use many of the same techniques as
you would for fiction -- developing characters,
painting pictures that describe scenes, building
drama.
Why did I move into tech writing? As much as I enjoyed
non-fiction narrative, I enjoyed explanatory writing
better. I like providing folks with practical
information. I like doing it well -- delivering in
packages where they can find what they need and
understand it easily. I did a lot of this when I was a
daily newspaper reporter. Health care was my beat. I'd
often write explanatory pieces about assorted health
issues, complete with the bullet-list sidebars (eg:
"what to look for", "warning signs", "where to go for
more information") and graphic diagrams. That's the
closest you'll get to tech writing in daily
journalism. I left journalism and have chosen tech
writing because I wanted to do more of that (and less
of the other journalism stuff -- breaking news,
covering pissing matches, etc...).
Hope this helps,
Liza
(TECHWR-L newbie, so be nice. at least for my first
few posts. then feel free to jump all over me. ;-) )
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