athloi's Journal: Technical Writing in Translation

I've written up a short summary of the origins of technical writing, the challenges it faces, and a possible future for technical writers that involves expanding our profession. The article, Technical Writing in Transition , is on uber-networked technical writer's hangout TECHWR-L, although the full text is posted to User Advocacy and another blog for which I write, Bolg.

Here's a short excerpt:

Among technical writers, the state of the profession is a form of contention in itself. Many argue that assuming change is afoot is to knuckle under to the steady stream of buzzwords and fads that make a few venture capitalists rich while everyone else hits the job boards again. A growing faction of otherwise sceptical writers are thinking instead that transition is upon us, and will reward those who adapt.

To understand this change, we need to track the development of technical writing.

Originally a bizarre hybrid between psychologist, journalist, and instructor, the technical writer compiled scattered notes written by engineers and converted them into manuals that normal people could read and understand. This allowed the product-buying public to use technology with which they had no familiarity.

Technical writing through the 1950s and 1960s followed this pattern. Users were expected to have a high school education including some math and science, so much of the job involved explaining specifics in terms of the general skills with which users were more familiar. Gadgets varied widely and so the writer served an essential role, translating engineer complexity into end-user clarity.

See what you think.