My Views on Technical Writing

Recently, when I was asked to write an article for my company newsletter, I could not think of any better topic than writing about what I have learned working at a client location. I post the article on my blog for all those who read my blog and for those who like to know about Technical Writing. Whatever I pen down here are merely my thoughts and experiences and is not seconded by any study or survey :-).
Working at a client side is a perfect way of learning for those who prefer to be left to learn from the deep-end of the pool. To succeed as a good Technical Writer, one should, in my opinion, possess the following skills:

• Writing skills. The basic and the most important skill required for any writer. Technical writing is about writing grammatically correct sentences in a clear and concise manner. Ensure that you polish your grammar, you can be surprised at the list of things you were not aware of or rather you thought you knew but didn’t know.
• Technical skills. Quiet naturally, a skill that is required to be a TECHNICAL writer. You should be technical enough to understand the language your subject matter expert (SME) talks.
  
  Before this whole TW industry was into being, they still had user manuals and other technical documents created by engineers and developers whose core area of expertise was not in writing. The need to have Technical Writers arose because there was a requirement for manuals to be written for non-technical audience, using user-friendly language. Sometimes, being less technical is ideal, for, you are then limited to writing in a simpler language and hence the purpose of creating understandable document is met. In a fast-growing industry like ours, we need to be aware of all the existing technology and domains. We need to have a liking and openness to learn more on the job. Those who might appear for client interviews must brush up their knowledge on the client domain.
• Tools skills. Though I do not consider this skill among the most important ones, you should have some basic knowledge about desktop publishing tools such as MS Word and FrameMaker. Specialize in one of the most happening tools, and have a minimal understanding about the other authoring tools in the market rather than being the jack of all trades and master of none.
• Soft skills. The following are some important soft skills that you require to work without roadblocks:
  


• Ability to extract information. At a client location, you have to interact verbally with SMEs to extract information. Do your bit of research on the basics and figure out the irrelevant things that they expect you to know. Make a list of questions on what you are not clear about so that the SME understands what exactly you wish to know. This way he knows that you respect his time, which makes him pour out more.
• Have a work plan for each day. It is possible that you might not stick to your work plan on a daily basis. It can change or be altered because of many factors including the availability of the SME or application. However, having a work plan helps you keep a track of all the tasks that are pending and reduces the possibility of missing any.
• Willingness to learn. You have to keep learning about the new tools, domains, and concepts. The best way to create awareness about the industry is to subscribe to Technical Writing mailing lists like TWIN.
• Capability to trouble-shoot. While working from the Collabis office, trouble-shooting was something I considered as my manager’s job :-). While working for my first onsite project, I realized that it is up to me to try it and to seek help only if I failed. The happiest days were those when I figured out a solution by myself!
  

Having penned all these, I must admit that it is easier to put in words than in practice. I am still striving to acquire all these skill sets. All we need is, the confidence to keep going without bowing to failure!

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
-- Thomas Alva Edison.

Copyright © 2008, Jaini Joseph.

The Power of Thought

Of late I have been thinking about the human mind and have been doing my bit of research on the power of thought. Everyone is capable enough to make any thing possible by the immense power of one's thoughts. Thoughts can heal one from disease, can enable us to do things that we think is impossible, and can also transform a person. Everything is in the mind, and the mind is the master and we are only doing what our mind wants, not necessarily what it needs. Then, why is it that sometimes certain things seem to be unattainable? It's the subconscious mind, though subsidiary to conscious plans, that at times pulls us back from doing things. It can be because of some deep hidden negative thoughts, including fear, hesitation, helplessness, or hatred, that got in us during our past experiences. The best thing is that any negative thought can be made positive if we have the mind and will to do so; this in turn helps us to lead a happy and fruitful life.


Leaving behind our past and moving on to a brighter future with fresh and positive thoughts is the key to a happy present. And most of us hold on to our past not because we can't leave it behind, but because we don't want to leave it behind. Everyone likes to be pampered with the good memories, and indirectly all the bad memories also stay within us. For instance, I had bruised myself while my relative took me for a bicycle ride sometime when I was 5 or 6yrs old. It can be that fear of getting bruised again that kept me away from even giving it a try to learn how to ride a bicycle. Now, I have reached a stage where at times I feel handicapped when I have to wait for a bus or rickshaw to travel to places nearby, and have made up my mind to learn and get a two-wheeler license. At times, some desperate need in us unknowingly change a negative thought to a positive one enabling us to do things that we once thought was impossible. And the other negative thoughts still remain, because of our affirmations, preventing us from all the good things life has to offer us.

Recently, I read a beautiful article that says that you need to throw old things to fill your life with new and good things. It is like clearing our wardrobe and shelves from old clothes and books to give space for new ones. Similarly, learn to unwind all the negative thoughts from your brain and fill it with positive ones. Having jotted all this, I should say that it is not as simple as it seems to be, to let go things off your mind. If you decide to hold on to something that is of no good to you because of some short pleasure it gives then there is nothing that can help you. It requires a great deal of maturity and willingness to stop our mind from having negative thoughts. Entertaining positive thoughts not only makes us happier but also healthier.

Copyright © 2008, Jaini Joseph.

Care Enough to Help

It is my recent train journey from Kerala to Bangalore that has inspired me to jot this post - the realization that people are changing with time. Our travel was scheduled from Kottayam to Bangalore in the Bangalore-Kanyakumari express. We had sleeper class tickets only from Palakkad and had to take general reservation tickets from Kottayam (from where we boarded) to Palakkad. However, we decided to board in the same compartment "S6" and thought of occupying the same seat number for which we have sleeper reservation. Unfortunately, we found out that a family of four had occupied it completely and what got on my nerve is that they did not even bother to give space for me, considering that I was carrying my 3yr old son. The oldest among the family had occupied the lower berth, the other woman among the four had occupied the other lower berth and had her suitcases and other luggage on the seat. The thought that their luggage was more important to them than a human standing with a child irritated me to the core. To add to all this, they had their clothes hanging all around the place to make the small place more suffocated. After a while, my husband got into an argument with them asking them to give space, reasoning that we have taken reservation; but they too continued with their reasoning that they also have reservation. Then came my savior, a senior citizen, who boarded the train from the next station from where we boarded. She asked them to give space for others and informed them that S6 compartment was usually considered for the employed people who travels to and fro for work and that sleeper reservation in S6 is given only from Palakkad.

What annoyed me is the thought that we have reached a period where people have forgotten to consider other fellow beings. Isn't it inborn in us to consider others or help others in need, at least when we do not have to go out of our way to do so? Can we behave as if "all is well" when we know that it is just the smallest of deeds required from us to help someone? Isn't the mantra for being a nice human as simple as being open to the fact that the world is not just Us-our family but we have others around us who need to be considered and respected? Let's work towards making this place a better place to live in by just doing the smallest of deeds we can and spreading a smile on others:-)

Copyright © 2008, Jaini Joseph.

Chase Your Dreams

We are living in an era in which every individual has the courage to reach for the stars, and yet are there a few who still let go of their dreams to make people around them happy or because of waiting hesitations?

Here I dedicate this to all the folks who hesitate to aim for their dreams and to all who wait to make decisions. I am jotting down my thoughts from what I have learnt in the short span of my life’s journey.

At some point of time in your life, you would have been in a dilemma about making a decision. Quiet naturally you think of seeking advice from someone older because you feel you are not old enough to know the do's and don’ts. When you realize that you have finally grown up, you would be left with a list of dreams you have let go. Call yourself blessed, if it is possible to come out of your mistakes or if you get another chance to make things right. The things that can’t be changed hang on to you till your last day, and you move on wishing (not hoping) of either going back to those days to change the way things went or of a day in the future when you will set things right. And you just keep wishing, because you can not do anything about the things over which you lost control…so you keep wishing.

One ultimate truth is that, nobody lives your life for you; you got to live it for yourself. So, why not be the ruler of your life and take a step forward to reach for your dreams. People learn from situations and only experiences teach you the right thing, so what if the person to whom you approach for advice is not the right person because he/she has not faced a similar situation? Then there you go, committing a blunder because of someone else’s inexperience. For every doubtful decision you have to make, just live the present and ask your heart what it wants and whether it really wants it, and if the answer is “Yes”, then go ahead and do it - you at least live a while doing what you really want in life.

Copyright © 2008, Jaini Joseph.