Author: Michael Lee

A technical writer’s work isn’t exactly among the top ten most exciting jobs in the world, but it doesn’t mean that it’s all work and no play all the time. In fact, the best technical writing fields are usually those that are fun to write.

If you have a passion for writing and are looking for the best technical writing fields, your search has ended. This article contains the top three that have high scores both in the profit meter and fun meter!

1) Gizmos and Gadgets

One of the best technical writing fields today is that of gadgets. After all, we are in an age when almost everybody wants to know what the next model of Nokia or the next generation of iPods looks like. Technology is now considered sexy.

As a technical writer for gadgets, this frenzy is to your advantage. Reviews on the latest model of mini laptops are most definitely welcome. Articles comparing different brands of mobile phones are eagerly eaten up by the techno-savvy crowd. And don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy being a gadget guru either!

2) Cars and Bikes

There’s just something about a shiny new car or bike that gets people’s hearts racing. This is a more specialized area of writing though and is less commonly found on the Internet compared to the field mentioned above.

However, there are magazines you can apply which specialize in such topics. Automobile shows, for example, also give you something to look forward to. As a technical writer, you are invited to these events regularly. You also get to see some of the rarest, fastest and most innovatively designed cars and bikes in your area.

3) Computer Software

Computer software is also one of the best technical writing fields today. People have a constant need to upgrade their programs, and large and small companies are always ready to give them options.

As a technical writer, you get to sample these programs and review them either for a blog, Web site or magazine. You can even be assigned to create a how-to manual necessary for every computer software that comes out.

There are a lot of opportunities for technical writers to earn money in this day and age. Indeed, the best technical writing fields are often those that are most fun.

About the Author:

If you want to easily earn $10,000 or more every single month through freelance writing jobs, then go to http://www.20daypersuasion.com/5figurewriter.htm and discover the secrets to earn massive amounts of money continuously… even if you’re not a gifted writer. You can also make money blogging on your spare time!

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Best Technical Writing Fields: Writing Your Way To Fun And Money

Author: Tom Aaron

Writing is an art that demands writers master many different skills. Editing writing, correcting grammar, and using rich punctuation are some of these skills. Punctuation may be the least respected skill. Were Rodney Dangerfield to write of punctuation, he might say, “Punctuation is like me. It don’t get no respect.” When we think of punctuation, we may only think of punctuation marks, but punctuation is much more. Anything used in written language that is not a letter or number is punctuation. This means punctuation marks, spaces between words, and indentation are all part of punctuation. If we turn to Wikipedia, we can find a definition of punctuation. Wikipedia says, “Punctuation marks are symbols that correspond to neither phonemes (sounds) of a language nor to lexemes (words and phrases), but which serve to indicate the structure and organization of writing, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading it aloud.”

We enrich our punctuation the same way we improve our writing. The above paragraph is the first version of a rough draft. Let’s edit it and see how we can improve the punctuation.

The art of writing demands writers master many different skills including editing, correcting grammar, and enriching punctuation. Punctuation may be the least respected skill. Were Rodney Dangerfield to write of punctuation, he might say: “Punctuation is like me. It don’t get no respect.” Punctuation goes beyond punctuation marks; anything in written language outside of letters and numbers is punctuation.

Punctuation marks, spaces between words, and indentation are all punctuation. Wikipedia defines punctuation: “Punctuation marks are symbols that correspond to neither phonemes (sounds) of a language nor to lexemes (words and phrases), but which serve to indicate the structure and organization of writing, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading it aloud.”

Let’s look at two differences between the first and second versions.

1. The number of paragraphs

The first version had one long paragraph, which became two paragraphs in the second version. Paragraphing is part of punctuation. A paragraph can be as short as one sentence or as long as several pages. A one-sentence paragraph, however, is unusual outside dialogue. Longer paragraphs are hard on readers. Breaking a long paragraph into two or more smaller paragraphs makes reading easier.

2. Variety in punctuation marks

The first version used only periods and commas; the second version added colons and semicolons. Punctuational variety enriches the writing. Many people use an extremely limited repertoire of punctuation marks: periods and commas. Use variety in punctuation marks to differentiate your writing from everyday writing without this rich variety.

We would also like to show additional ways to use punctuation:

1. Colons can emphasize contrast.

We waited all day for Godot to show up: He never arrived.

2. Ellipsis emphasize that there is more.

We ate apple bars with whipped cream, lemon bars with nuts, marshmallow bars, meltaway chocolate bars….

Improving your punctuation is fairly easy; remember the colon and the semicolon. When you read, notice the punctuation. See how you can add ellipsis, exclamation points, dashes, and more. Observe, learn and improve your writing.

Still, we don’t want you to overwhelm your readers with punctuation. Thinking of punctuation as a piece of chocolate cake might help. One piece of chocolate cake may taste like heaven; two pieces may just be too much heaven. Using exclamation points, dashes, and ellipses too often may overwhelm your readers and begin to interfere with their reading of your writing.

About the Author:

This article is from Aaron Language Services at
http://www.aaronlanguage.com/
We provide English writing services to a primarily Japanese clientele. If you are an experienced editor, specializing in medicine or the hard sciences, please contact us via personnel on the menu on the left side of our top page.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Enrich your punctuation and improve your writing

Author: James Hunt

The technical writing process consists of four main phases. These are planning, writing, delivery, archiving. These phases are not necessarily set in stone and some variations do exist. Every writer is different and they each have their own way of writing that is distinct. For those who are just beginning to do some technical writing however would be well advised to use these phases as a way of organizing their writing.

The planning stage of technical writing consists of gathering information. In this stage of the technical writing process you will determine which documents and other information that you will use for your writing. This is also where you will determine how the documentation will be delivered to the customer. In this stage you can also create any templates that are needed.

The writing phase in technical writing is where you write your documents. This is where you should also make a list of glossary of terms as you write. This can be left to the end but it always easier to do this as you go along. When the writing is complete you should always take the time to read over your material and correct any mistakes that you can detect. The most common mistakes are spelling errors. Someone else could find the harder to detect grammatical errors that you let read your writing. This of course is a good idea. You should always have someone else read your writing to pick up on any mistakes that you may overlook.

The third stage of the technical writing process is called the delivery phase. This is the method by which you will present your writing to others. This may be done through text form. Today, with the increasing use of computers people are deciding to save their writing on CD or floppy disk and sell the writing in this format. Today people are just as will to buy a CD than they are a book. Printed materials should always be presented well. This should be done in a binder or folder of some sort. The material should be organized and it is a good idea to use tabs to separate sections so that people will make it easier to read.

The fourth and final stage of the technical writing process is the archiving phase. This includes naming the document and putting the archive number on the document. If you work for a company then your company may have their own way of archiving documents and you could use this system. Once this is all complete you are done.

About the Author:
James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest.
Read more at www.technical-writing-central.info

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Process of Technical Writing

The other day, I managed finally to watch Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino with some friends of mine. One of the scenes reminded me of issues faced when writing documentation: What do you leave out?

To set the scene, Clint’s Eastwoord’s character, Walt Kowalski, is a gruff Korean War veteran and retired Ford autoworker still living in his older neighbourhood that is quickly being repopulated with Hmong immigrants and gangs. After a failed burglary and gang initiation, Walt’s teenaged next-door neighbour (Thao) comes to apologize, and to work for Walt as both punishment and compensation.

Walt is a very self-sufficient man, keeping his property and belongings well maintained, and generally sitting on his veranda drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon. As such, he has no work for Thao—until he surveys his neighbourhood a little more and sees the disrepair into which many of the houses have fallen. He gets Thao to repair the roof and eavestroughing of the house across the street.

At this point, one of my friends, an intelligent, well-educated nursing manager and operating room nurse, asked, “Why that house? Why is that house important?” And it wasn’t so much that the house was important, but the audience is expected to realize that Walt has become tired of sitting on his porch staring at his old neighbour’s house falling down across from him.

But could Eastwood (as the director) not have included a short scene where Walt and the new neighbour across the street have words about the state of the house? Or where Walt makes a specific comment about having to stare at that particular house as it falls down? Would it really have made a difference to the story, or most people’s understanding?

We make decisions like this every day. Whether it’s to include a word in a glossary or index, add an introduction or conclusion to a procedure, include a screenshot or even to write for a particular audience. There’s always a choice to be made that will either add to the understanding of a document or take away from it. These are especially important decisions when factoring in budget and time constraints:

• Do we have time to change the glossary or index?
• Can we afford to print more pages?
• Do we have time to write more introductions and conclusions, and get them reviewed?
• Is there time to get and properly edit the screenshot?
• Can we rewrite for a novice audience or do we continue writing for the expert audience?

While I’m certain we’d all love to write the perfect document every time, in the end, the original planning and analysis should have accounted for all of these issues. Something may have been missed, but it must become part of the post-project review, something to consider for the next time.

Movie-makers don’t get a second chance to make a movie, but much of our documentation can be revised later and having a solid review to work from is an excellent starting point.

How do you make sure you get all the right information into your documents?

Image courtesy Ian Britton | FreeFoto.com