What is technical writing?
Safety instructions, appliance, and furniture manuals, online tutorials and guides, books, technical blogs, high-risk equipment installation instructions, and even board game manual instructions are forms of technical writing.
This book is aimed at software developers who want to learn how to explain better what they build. It doesn’t intend to cover all the examples above. However, as with many complex topics, sometimes it’s important to understand how we got where we are today and the gamut of related work that others undertake. My grandfather was also more of an engineer at heart at a time when qualifications were more necessary but harder to get if you came from a poor family like he did. But he was passionate about helping those around him understand complex technical topics. One of his proudest moments was captured in a tattered old black and white photo of him explaining how the cables worked to a young Prince Phillip (the last English Queen’s husband). I studied computer science and spent several years in development teams before realizing I enjoyed explaining technical topics more. In short, you’re in good company!
Ok, I’ve explained what technical writing is, but that doesn’t always help. Sometimes, when figuring out what’s expected or typical in a role or task, it’s easier to look at what it doesn’t include.
