Technical Writing (By a Fiction Author)
I learned about technical writing in college when they introduced a new class. I did not know this type of writing was a discipline because all engineers must know how to “technically” write. A friend of mine took the first class, and she liked it, but my schedule did not allow me to take it.
As my engineering career progressed, I wrote many proposals and technical documents. At 25, my boss suggested I take a technical writing class. UCSD extension offered one, and I jumped at the opportunity. After all, the company paid for it.
The class was a positive experience, and the curriculum focused on being a better technical communicator. Surprisingly, there are few technical writing textbooks, and the ones I read were a mix of unorganized writing tips and loose examples.
Fun side note: A student in the class invited me to a party where I met a girl I dated. I also tasted the drink “boba” for the first time at the UCSD food court. I also got many UCSD parking tickets. Punishing poor students. Such jerks!
The main takeaway from this technical writing class was to study each sentence and make sure it was clearly stated.
Until I took the class, my writing was all over the map. The sentences were unfocused and contained extra junk, unrelated opinions, humor, and thought-provoking observations. That’s my personality, and I created fun technical documents.
The class forced a significant change, and writing became a game to optimize every sentence. The result was terse and cryptic documents. In the following years, I honed my technical writing skills, and eventually, my writing became less condensed. There is an art to technical writing to organize facts and present them logically.
A good technical writer must also avoid the many writing pitfalls to make a tremendous technical document. For example, using the first person, making the document a story, or keeping the reader in suspense.
Fifteen years later, I upped my technical writing game when I lost my full-time job and became a consultant. One of my clients had their office far away, and all my communications were over email.
I worked hard to convey my exact thoughts, but nobody had time to read long detailed emails. This experience left me jaded, and I put less effort into my technical writing. Of course, I was aware of this change in attitude and knew my writing suffered.
Three years later, I got laid off again and had time to burn. So, I decided to write a fictional novel. Yay! When I submitted my first book to an editor, the main takeaway was that my grammar was poor, and my writing was bland. Specifically, I was missing content and emotion. So, I was writing fiction like an engineer? Yes, and I forced myself to improve these areas.
A year later, I got a full-time job and returned to creating technical documents. I immediately saw a change in my technical documents. I had shifted from terse, logical sentences to ones with correct structure and great flow. The result was more contractions and flowery words. I suspect my technical co-workers think (because of my writing) that I am a more formal person. Perhaps snooty?
My new writing abilities also allowed me to realize that my fellow engineers had poor English skills. Now, I see grammar and spelling mistakes in every technical document, which requires great effort not to point out glaring errors.
It would appear that I have come full circle. My engineering English ability started poor, got better, got technical, became artistic, and is now a blend. So, what does my future technical writing hold? Engineering at a company requires many boring reports and precise emails, but I do not mind. That’s all part of the job.
You’re the best -Bill
July 04, 2018 Updated June 10, 2023
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