The part of my brain that rages against injustice stirs like a slumbering dragon when I read the words “Native English”. As a speaker of English as a second language, I find native to be a rather inadequate, if lazy, choice as an attribute meant to describe linguistic proficiency. You’re born with eyes, but that doesn’t automatically make you a competent watcher; you acquire a language, but that doesn’t automatically turn you into a competent writer.| passo.uno
For the first time since I started this blog, I’m writing some predictions on software technical writing for next year. Not because I think they’ll be accurate—they never are—but because the exercise reveals what we’re concerned about and what we hope to tackle. Predictions are to-do lists in disguise: they highlight challenges we’re determined to overcome. Plus, they’re fun to write. So here are my predictions for 2025, knowing I’ll enjoy being proven wrong.| passo.uno
A reader asked me how they’d become a Documentation Engineer, because they saw I got hired as one and felt curious about what it takes to get there. This inevitably got me thinking about job titles and the evolution of tech writing, two topics that are quite central to this blog. Let me begin with the short answer: As a tech writer you’ll have to wear many hats, but you’ll always be a technical writer. Depending on your preferences, some hats will be more comfortable than others. Docs E...| passo.uno
Congratulations! You hired your first technical writer. At some point you must have realized that you needed one, lest your product becomes a user nightmare. Or perhaps you thought that hiring a writer would free your developers from writing documentation and feel more “agile”. Whatever your motivation, you had the courage to hire a documentarian, and for that we applaud you. Now, how can you make sure your tech writer will thrive?| passo.uno
With the job market getting tougher by the day, there’s a rising belief among tech writers that their role is “too niche” and a “dead-end job”. I think that’s the wrong way of looking at our profession — at any profession. Let me cast aside that dark veil of pessimism and offer an alternative viewpoint, that of tech writing as a platform to other professions, one that lets you move laterally with just a bit of curiosity and courage.| passo.uno