Technical writing is a much valued skill. It helps a lot of people in familiarizing with certain subject/product by providing easy-to-understand guide to people about the subject matter or product.

Challenges are inevitable phenomenon one must encounter at some point in life. How we overcome these challenges is what really matters. This article should provide an overview on some of the road blocks you may come across as a technical writer.

INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING

Technical writing is the writing of document about a particular subject, providing instruction, direction or explanation, that is used in technical fields like engineering, aeronautics, computer software and hardware etc. Technical writing gives readers clear and easy approach to information.

Technical writer is one that communicates difficult information to the readers. A technical writer breaks down difficult-to-understand information into easy-to-understand guides that help user to understand more about a subject matter.

BENEFITS OF TECHNICAL WRITING

There are various benefits in technical writing. Here are a few:

• Strengthen your knowledge

  Writing about a subject helps to strengthen your knowledge. You’d have to carry out extensive research on a topic in order to provide an easy-to-understand article. This process helps you discover new things and idea or get a better understanding about what you already know.

• Share ideas

  Writing about a topic enables you to share your ideas on the topic. Relate with the ideas of other writers or developers on a topic.

• Networking

  Technical writing provides the opportunity to meet and interact with people around the world. You can join various communities to discuss about different topics.

• Provide aid to people

  One of the core aim of technical writing is helping people understand complex information, by breaking it down into easy-to-understand guide for people.

• Improve your writing skill

  Strong writing, communication and research skills come as a prerequisites for technical writing. With consistency, every article you write, tends to improve your writing skill.

• Cash out :)

  Honestly, this is my favorite. Lots of companies pay technical writers to write on their platform. They believe these articles can help people around the world understand the products. This provides you the opportunity to earn while you do something you enjoy.

CHALLENGES IN TECHNICAL WRITING

Impostor Syndrome

As a technical writer, you don’t need to “know it all” when providing a guide on a topic/product. This is where your research skill comes in. The term ‘research’ simply means making extensive investigation/inquiry on a topic. This inquiry could come from a focus group, an expert on that topic or even previous articles written on that topic.

Choosing a topic

Choosing a topic to write about could also be a challenge you’re most likely to encounter as a technical writer. When selecting a topic, it doesn’t matter if there had been an article on the topic you want to write about, your article could make more sense to a reader than previous articles already existing. Just write!

Social anxiety

In order for you to be a successful writer, you must learn how to socialize or network with people. You will have to communicate with your team or external bodies, provide interview in order to learn more about the topic. If you are an introvert, you will have to step out of your shell in order to be a successful technical writer.

Dealing with experts

Interacting with experts could also be a challenge you may come across. You should know that you could meet an expert at their worst or best when trying to ask questions and whatever response your get depends on their mood at the moment. They may also be too busy to give you a response. Whichever, do not feel discouraged, but rather try again next time.

Complex topic

As a technical writer, you may get to write about a complex topic that requires lots of work (research and data analysis). You may get to write a documentation that requires extensive search for information that are difficult to understand. This can be really stressful.

Conclusion

Technical writing is really fun and an interesting skill, but you should know that you’ll encounter various challenges, even one’s not mentioned in this article. The benefits should always be your driving force, in order to excel as a writer.

Best of luck!