: Re: Does a technical writer need a technical background? Does a technical writer need a technical background?

@Reiling826

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I'm about to turn down a pretty good contract role as a technical author (TA) writing API for a company based in Gibraltar - sun, sand and senoritas! Why? Because I was able to get through the interview based solely on my personality rather than my aptitude for the subject. I'm a good enough TA to know my limitations and I have previous experience writing API so why am I saying no to a contract that I really need? The answer is that I don't believe that I could do it justice.

I do not have a 'reasonably' deep understanding of programming (JSON/Java/RESTful) and I would have to lean heavily on the developers to explain each nut and bolt of the code - thereby exposing what a wally I was and eventually discouraging developers or technical experts from providing the techy stuff that as an author, I should be clarifying for the audience.

I truly believe that a good author writes from experience, from a sound knowledge base of the subject, from a position of strength. Understanding your subject makes your prose flow, and flow with clarity and succinctness. So yes, a technical author does need a technical background in the subject matter that he is writing about; if only so that he can obtain the cooperation of the subject matter experts he will be getting the information from.

It goes without saying that if the author does not understand the information he is writing about then he will be clueless on how to sift through the data and clearly explain the subject.

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