SfC Home > Technical Writing >

Explanation of how to be a champion technical writer. Also refer to documentation, appreciation, thankful, health, knowledge, skill, excellence, confidence, esteem, value, recognition, character, honor, honesty, enjoy, adventure, help, succeed, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions

Be a Champion Technical Writer

by Ron Kurtus (revised 29 May 2004)

Being a champion technical writer doesn't necessarily mean that you are the best there is. Rather, it is doing your best to achieve your writing and career goals.

This is optimized by following the philosophy of appreciating what you have, living your life as a champion, and enjoying the adventure of life by helping others enjoy theirs.

Questions you may have include:

• What should be appreciated?
• How does one live as a champion?
• Why help others?

This lesson will try to answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson.

Appreciation

Appreciate and be thankful of what you have, especially concerning your technical writing career. Don't take your job or business for granted. Even the worst job is better than no job at all.

If you are presently out of work, appreciate your friends and family. Be thankful that you have skills and abilities. These will all be important in getting your next position.

Live as a champion

To live your life as a champion means to always seek to stay healthy, knowledgeable, excellent, valuable and honorable.

Health

You can't write very effectively if you don't feel well. You should take care of your physical and emotional health, so that you do what you want and need to do. If you are healthy, you simply feel good.

Knowledge and skill

A writer needs to continually improve his or her knowledge of writing tools and subject matters, as well as writing techniques. If you are knowledgeable and skilled, your self-esteem will blossom.

Excellence

You must do your best and be able to achieve your goals. Persistence and conscientiousness are important. If you accomplish things and are excellent at them, you feel confident about yourself.

Value

Technical writers constantly seem to have to sell the value of their profession to management, who often don't realize that documentation is an extension of the product. You must also make sure you provide value to your supervisors and customers, such that they feel they are getting their money's worth from the work you do. If you prove yourself valuable, you feel important and needed.

Character

You must seek to maintain the position of being honorable and honest in your dealing with other people. In this way, you can hold your head up high and be respected for your integrity.

Enjoy

Life is a journey or adventure. Your chosen profession should also be an adventure, where you reap rewards and enjoy the trip. Hard work may be necessary, but you don't want to have the attitude that you are stuck in some drudgery. Enjoy the adventure.

Part of that enjoyment is giving back and helping others to enjoy their adventure. It is often difficult to find places to help others, so keep your eyes open. Give others at work a helping hand. Be a mentor to young people.

Giving and helping will only increase your enjoyment as a champion in life.

Summary

To be a technical writing champion, you should have the attitude of appreciating what you have, you should live your life as a champion, and help others to succeed.

Answers to Readers' Questions

Be a champion

Resources

The following resources provide information on a writing career.

Websites

Society for Technical Communication

Technical Writing Resources

Books

Top-rated books on Technical Writing

Miscellaneous

Mini-quiz to check your understanding

1. How can you be thankful when you didn't get a good raise?

2. Why should you bother trying to be valuable to your company?

3. What good does it do to help others?

If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a Champion in Technical Writing. If you had problems, you had better look over the material again.

What do you think?

Do you have any questions, comments, or opinions on this subject? If so, send an email with your feedback. We will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

Share link

Feel free to establish a link from your website to pages in this site.

Or use our form to send this link to yourself or a friend.

Students and researchers

The Web address of this page is
www.school-for-champions.com/techwriting/champion.htm.

Please include it as a reference in your report, document, or thesis.

Where can you go from here?

School for Champions

Technical Writing topics

Be a Champion Technical Writer