Back
to top

Technical Writing Blog

Grow your technical writing expertise with industry news, best practices, articles, product updates

Basics of Plain Language in Technical Documentation

Basics of Plain Language in Technical Documentation

Technical writing or technical communication is about delivery of technical information to the general audience. Using plain language in technical documentation allows to make the writing clear, concise and helpful to readers. Plain language writing helps the target audience easily perceive information, avoid misunderstandings and save time, because it gets the job done the first…

Continue reading »
Posted in Education on 1/25/2018

Writer’s Block: Tips for Technical Writers

Writer’s Block: Tips for Technical Writers

Tell us if the following sounds familiar. You have to create the knowledge base for a product. You read the instructions carefully, do your research, and clarify any knowledge gaps with the development team. But, when it’s time to sit down and write the content, crickets. You can’t type one single word. You have a…

Continue reading »
Posted in Self-Development on 1/19/2018

5 Ways to Stop Procrastinating

5 Ways to Stop Procrastinating

Is there something else you are supposed to be doing right now? Probably some paperwork or starting a new documentation project? But instead you are reading this article about procrastination. Ironic, isn’t it? So you call yourself a procrastinator. Don’t worry, you are not alone. If you are like me or anyone else on this…

Continue reading »
Posted in Self-Development on 1/4/2018

Team Orca Case Study – Using ClickHelp in a CI Environment

Team Orca Case Study – Using ClickHelp in a CI Environment

Team Orca uses a Continuous Integration environment to trigger builds and installer packaging automatically on a regular basis. ClickHelp allows the build scripts to quickly and effortlessly generate all of the different documentation combinations required for a full product build and release. Team Orca Trifectix, Inc. About Trifectix, Inc. Trifectix, Inc. is a software company…

Continue reading »
Posted in ClickHelp News on 12/26/2017

History of Technical Writing

History of Technical Writing

Technical writing has been around for a few centuries. It is a field that demands a specific set of skills for technical communicators to have. Throughout the centuries, technical writers served as mediators between people, who created technology and people who used technology. But where does technical writing come from? How old is it? Antiquity…

Continue reading »
Posted in Technical Writing on 12/19/2017

Best Team Building Activities for Techies

Best Team Building Activities for Techies

Your employees are one of your biggest assets – that’s a fact. Their ability to work together and communicate efficiently can help streamline your business and increase your bottom line. As such, team building can be an excellent way of bringing everyone together, solve conflicts, and improve the company’s internal synergy. Just consider for a…

Continue reading »
Posted in Technical Communication on 12/14/2017

5 Simple Steps to Build a Career in Technical Writing

5 Simple Steps to Build a Career in Technical Writing

So, you’re considering a career in technical writing. Maybe we’re a bit biased, but that’s an excellent choice. You’ll get to work closely with the products and services that may change people’s lives and prepare user documentation for manuals, articles, online help and other supporting documents. It’s a gratifying job, though not without challenges. Here…

Continue reading »
Posted in TechComm Career Path on 11/23/2017

Technical Writer Job Challenges

Technical Writer Job Challenges

Technical writing doesn’t come without its fair share of challenges. For an outsider, creating user documentation may seem like a straightforward job: you receive the project details, analyze the task, and then just start writing. But is it that simple? A technical writer is, essentially, a communicator, and their job is to transfer information from…

Continue reading »
Posted in TechComm Career Path on 11/19/2017

To Jargon or Not To Jargon in Technical Writing

To Jargon or Not To Jargon in Technical Writing

To jargon, or not to jargon: that is the question. Although technical writing and the word ‘jargon’ appeared long before Shakespeare, this is not exactly the famous question posed by Hamlet. Today it is a tricky matter which occupies the minds of specialists in technical communication and all sorts of writing. But first of all…

Continue reading »
Posted in Education on 11/14/2017

Page Layout for Printed and Online Documentation

Page Layout for Printed and Online Documentation

Remember, when you studied in college you had to deal with writing different papers? And, if they were not hand written there were all those requirements about the font size, the quotes, the page breaks…’Yuck! But my paper is very much readable the way it is. Do I really have to do this? What a…

Continue reading »
Posted in Documentation UX on 11/9/2017