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> So, what's my point? As technical writers (especially lone ones) are we
> doing all we can to increase our knowledge of our word processing tools,
> desktop publishing tools, graphics tools, editing -- all the things that
> distinguish really good technical writers from hacks?
You basically answered your own question, Horace. Knowledge of word processing
tools, graphics, and editing are of marginal value to employers. What is
valuable is technical skills and knowledge. Or as I say "content knowledge."
Furthermore. doctors have to know A LOT more than how to use Tool A or Tool B.
They have to have a comprehensive understanding of biological systems, how they
work, interact, etc. How to use a tool is incidental to a doctor's true
talents. A good doctor has an intricate, detailed, and extensive understanding
of how the entire human body works.
Many writers approach their profession with the attitude that they are
accomplished, senior level professionals merely because they can use FrameMaker
and put commas in the correct place. These skills, while necessary, are of
marginal consequence to what constitutes an accomplished technical writer. A
good writer, like a good doctor, has an intricate, detailed, and extensive
understanding of the technologies and systems he/she is documenting. Only then
can a writer contribute content, which is the primary reason documentation
exists in the first place.
Therefore, the question really should be "are we doing enough to increase our
knowledge of the technologies we document -- the things that distinguish good
technical writers from font fondlers?"
And given the outright hostility many writers have toward even the suggestion
that they be required to learn technology concepts, I suspect the tech writing
world still has a long way to go before it will earn the kind of respect it so
desperately seems to want.
Andrew Plato
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