Skill #18: Embracing the Long Game of Technical Writing
Anyone who’s been in technical writing for a few years or has attended a technical writing conference has witnessed how quickly the field has evolved. Technical writers have had to shift from Microsoft Word docs to single-source authoring; they’ve had to learn how to become project managers; they’ve had to learn basic programming skills.
In short, technical writers have had to learn how to be flexible—shifting their skills and focus as needed to prepare themselves for shifts in the industry.
It’s essential to surviving the long game of technical writing; however, it’s not easy. It can require continuing education outside of your 9 to 5; it can mean feeling very uncomfortable in a new setting; and, most important, it can mean, understandably, forgetting to create a enjoyable life for yourself outside of work.
That’s why, in this episode, we have Jody Winter on the podcast: Auckland, New Zealand based technical writer of 15 years who’s faced all the struggles that come with embracing the long game of technical writing—and, thankfully, has lived to tell the story with insights that will help any technical writer prepare for and embrace the challenges of growing and fostering their career.
In this episode, Jody shares how you can embrace the long game of technical writing, including:
- How to observe changes in the field and how to respond
- How to respond to seasons of burnout, where you feel like your technical writing career really isn’t going anywhere
- And how to find opportunities to ramp up your technical writing skills
Show Notes:
Creators and Guests
Host
Jacob Moses
Jacob Moses is the founder and original host of The Not-Boring Tech Writer podcast, which he launched in 2016 to celebrate tech writers and push back against the stereotype that technical writing is boring. He studied technical communication at the University of North Texas, and his first gig out of college was as a tech writer at Rainmaker Digital (formerly Copyblogger Media). Since then, he's carried the skills and values he cultivated as a tech writer into community development and real estate. Today, Jacob is owner of Care Block Development, a real estate development company that acquires, rehabs, and manages historic buildings in Denton, Texas. Pairing historic preservation with thoughtful improvements, Care Block honors the culture of the neighborhoods in which it works to create lovable places for the people it serves. He's also the owner of Sardinha, a premium tinned seafood pop-up pushing premium tins in Denton. If you need a tinfish plug in Denton, Jacob is your guy.
