Skills required as a Technical writer.
What do you think should be the first skill required as a Technical writer? I thought being good at making notes and having good writing was the main step to what I was pursuing. But that was far from it.
I read a lot of posts and books trying to know the first skill required as a Technical writer so I can build from that. Later on, I understood that any of these skills would possibly come first.
1. Research skills: As a technical writer, you can't complete and post your article without proper research. Researching gives room for new ideas or suggestions.
“I've always been a lover of Research. My only yes to whatever I'm in doubt, is Research”.
Research provides answers to what you're writing. It answers the following questions:
A. What do I want to know or learn about this subject matter.
B. Who am I writing to.
C. What do they want to learn from what am writing.
D. How can I solve their pain points.
As a Technical writer, your writing should answer this listed questions effectively.
Communication skills: This is an important skill required because your choice of words matters so much as a Technical writer.
A Technical writer should be free with words.
Tool skills: It is also important to know the various tools needed as a Technical writer and how to use them. The following are tools needed as a Technical writer:
a. Spell check tools: A Technical writer should be familiar with some spell check tools like Autocrit and Grammarly.
b. Image editing tools: Like Canva
c. Publishing tools: like Document360, Hanhnode.
Teamwork: A Technical writer does not work alone.