eclecticism

02/03/2004 |

Every so often, a topic pops up in the TypePad User Group forums that I feel I can add my own particular little brand of insight into, and I’ll spend some time doing my best to explain (often in excruciating detail) what’s going on. I recently got a very nice comment from Doc in response to one such post.

…another excellent description. Are you sure there’s not a bit of teacher in you someplace?

The funny thing is that over the years, I’ve gotten quite a few comments along those lines from many friends of mine, and I’ve started considering the possibility of pursuing getting a teaching degree if when I manage to get back into school. It’s always flattering to get comments like Doc’s that indicate that this might not be an entirely unrealistic goal.

Another direction I sometimes toss around in my head is technical writing. I’ve come up with quite a few different ‘how-to’ or explanatory posts (quite a few of which are archived here) over time, and I’ve always enjoyed writing them out. There’s a definite satisfaction to being able to take a somewhat obscure concept (such as printer stylesheets, title attributes, or dealing with blockquote tags) and finding a way to present it clearly (if not always concisely) so that it can be more easily understood.

As long as I enjoy writing and have an apparent knack for things like this, I sometimes think that getting into technical writing — how-to’s, manuals, documentation, and the like — could be a very interesting way to make a living. Programmers and technicians can often come up with some wonderful applications and devices, but often can’t explain how or why they work as successfully as could be done. I can’t program to save my life, but if I have an ability to come up with decently-crafted explanations, why not explore that a bit?

Of course, I haven’t got the foggiest idea of how to get started, or even how to go about investigating the possibility. Still, it keeps kicking around in my head, so maybe one of these days I’ll stumble upon a direction to go in.

iTunes: “Eastern Promise (Dub Pistols vs. Bow Wow Wow)” by Bow Wow Wow from the album Groove Radio Presents Alternative Mix (1999, 4:08).

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4 Responses to “Teaching? Technical writing?”

paul Says:
February 3rd, 2004 at 6:31 am

This is a thought that flows through my head: I do some volunteer work at my kids’ school so teaching is never far from my mind. And tech writing? Well, I get a fair amount of traffic to the various howto and gotcha documents I’ve posted. Could be worth working into a resume or cover letter: “hey, I do all this for nothing, imagine what I could do if you hired me.”

Ironically (for you, anyway) your former workplace might be a good place to look into tech writing. Might be worth feeling around a bit?

The post linked from my name goes to yet another of those web quizzes, but it specifically mentioned the role of a translator between the geek and civilian worlds. Might be time to put that into practice …

mike Says:
February 3rd, 2004 at 11:43 am

http://www.uwtc.washington.edu/programs/certif.htm

I concur, Michael, you’d make an excellent technical writer. I believe it’s also Kindall’s profession - drop him a line!

Also, last time I peeked at SCCC’s offerings there was a decent range of evening tech classes including some intro to technical writing stuff. A BA will have greater long-term value, of course.

Mom Says:
February 3rd, 2004 at 3:35 pm

Teaching in your background? Let’s see, 4 grandparents, two parents, 1 aunt, 1 uncle, 1 brother. I think you’d have to work very hard to get away from an inherited teaching ability.

I’ve also enjoyed writing manuals so the totally inept could perform some technical task. Try translating the Post Office bulk mail directions for someone who seems incapable of starting at the top of the page and doing EVERY step in order for a mailing.

Classes? Of course, and you don’t have to go full time to take them, either.

One of your first pieces of technical writing was for “Father” Sue, when you did the Acolytes directions, concluding with grabbing cookies and encouraging parents to quit palavering and take you home!