Technical Writing 101: Technical Ultimate Guide.
Introduction
In the past few months, I have asked myself 'how do I get started with technical writing?' My aim back then was to be a proficient technical writer. My aim still is the same. I had been postponing this endeavor for the longest time possible, until recently when I got accepted into the Mastering Technical Writing boot camp by Lux Tech Academy. (Fun fact: I am the Lux Tech Academy Campus Lead for Moi University😎.) In this article I will be addressing the fundamentals of technical writing i.e the what, the why and the how.
What is Technical Writing?
Technical Writing is a form of writing that communicates or explains information to a specific audience. It is often used to explain how to use a product or service. It can alsoe be used to provide instructions on how to complete a task, or to describe technical concepts.Technical writing can be used to simplify complex or unknown terms and procedures or to preserve information. As such technical writing goes beyond the software and tech ecosystem and has a range of application.
Types of technical writing.
There are several types of technical writing. These include and are not limited to:
Software and user guides
Documentation(Both Engineering and Product)
Process manuals
Medical papers
Technical reports
Scientific papers e.t.c
Skills needed for technical writing
The cliche quote practice makes perfect is especially true for developing proper technical writing skills. Sports players do training drills everyday to perfect their craft. This also applies to writing. To get good at technical writing one should make it a habit of writing almost on a daily basis if not on a daily basis. This type of consistency might just turn you into the Messi or Ronaldo(siuuu😅) of technical writing or the Lebron James of technical writing(for those looking for an NBA reference). You get my point though. Apart form pratice,technical writing skills are mastered by acquiring and building specific skills. These include and are not restricted to:
Research: As a writer, one needs to set out time to research and learn something new like a new technology, a new tool for editing e.t.c.
Ability to learn fast and unlearn old outdated concepts:This is because the technical field is an ever growing system and things change rapidly. This is especially true with the increased development of AI systems.
Empathy and audience perception:It is important to understand your reader's needs/wants. This will help you to give the kind of solutions they might need when reading your article.
Technical skills:You need to understand technical terms and have the necessary knowledge to write about a particular topic.
SEO: Having above par SEO skills will help the articles you write to be easily found by humans and the bots that serve these articles on search engines.
Writing process
As any serious endevor has it, there are processes to be followed when writing.
The process to be followed can be as stipulated in the following steps
Topic choice
Picking a topic to write about shouldn't be difficult if you pick topics that you genuinely enjoy. Nothing beats content written with passion. If you learned something new today, write about it. Solved that bug that took you days to solve? Write about it. Write about FAQ's or how- to articles.
Create a roadmap
From the topic you've picked, create subtopics . This is so that when writing, ideas flow chronologically and this will also enable your article reader to follow the steps easily and in a structured manner. This will help the reader to effectively consume your content. Each subtopic should flow seamlessly into the next.
Editing
This is done after you have written out the entire piece. If you edit an article as you write it, you may lose the flow you have whilst writing. There are severall editing tools such as Grammarly and Hemmingway which have free versions and premium versions.
Blog posting platforms
After writing your articles you might want to publish them so your readers can access them. You can find several blog posting platforms online which offer you a blog for free, along with great editing software. Some of them include:
You can also create your on blog post and host it . This all depends on your preference
Conclusion
Technical writing is extremely useful for both the readers and writers. It allows for precise and concise sharing of knowledge between the two parties.
We have come to the end of my article . Thank you for giving it a read. Stick around my blog post for more. This is just but the beginning.