Technical Writing, a form of technical communication, is a style of formal writing and business communication, used in fields as diverse as computer hardware and software, chemistry, the aerospace industry, robotics, finance, consumer electronics, and biotechnology. Good technical writing clarifies technical jargon; that is, it presents useful information that is clear and easy to understand for the intended audience.
Lights! Action! Sound! There's a certain mystique associated with the design and development of multimedia. A multimedia developer is not quite a movie director, but.... If you're a technical writer, you may already have considered multimedia as a career option, but you may not know what's involved or how to get started. Having the information you need always makes a change easier, so perhaps this information will help you make that career move!
Currie, Cynthia C., Carmie Boutin and Linda Mandra. STC Proceedings (1999). Careers>Multimedia>Technical Writing
The Art and Science of Policy and Procedure Writing and Publishing 
This is an informational site dedicated to topics relevant to writing and publishing business process knowledge, especially policies and procedures. The objective of this site is to openly share information about writing and publishing policies and procedures and other forms of business knowledge.
Kopp, Gary. Policy Procedure Manual (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Policies and Procedures>Technical Writing
The Art of Writing Technical Articles
My advice for those wish to become writers: Write! Write! Write! I have always maintained that great writers are born, and professional writers are made. In the born writers there is an unquenchable thirst for writing, a passion for writing. Writing is a mission. Writing is the soul of the person. The professional writer does it for a living. There is a deadline and the writer can churn out the required number of words.
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing
The Association of Teachers of Technical Writing 
The Association of Teachers of Technical Writing was formed in 1973 to encourage dialogue among teachers of technical communication and to develop technical communication as an academic discipline. ATTW today has approximately 1,000 members and includes both graduate and undergraduate students of technical communication as well as professional technical communicators in business and industry.
Rhonda Bracey's blog, with some posts specifically on technical writing.
Bracey, Rhonda. At Random. Resources>Writing>Technical Writing>Blogs
This is a working draft of the code of ethics of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. As a work in progress, it is subject to substantial change and carries no authority from ATTW. It is meant only for inspection and comment by the ATTW Ethics Committee and general ATTW membership.
Information development organizations are under increasing pressure to implement single-sourcing or other automated and highly structured document development processes. Forces driving this trend include translation requirements, niche marketing, the convergence of software and documentation, and shrinking cycle times and budgets. Initially, these changes threaten to remove everything that is challenging and interesting about the technical writer’s work. However, technical writers who successfully adapt to this new environment will find more opportunity than ever to use their analysis and writing skills and to develop additional negotiation and process management capabilities.
Guthrie, Melissa L. STC Proceedings (2000). Careers>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Technical Writing
When moving to single-sourcing through XML and SGML, management often spends considerable time on tools evaluation and content management, but not enough on preparing the writers for the paradigm shift to the new environment. This presentation provides some hints for a successful transition for your personnel as well as your documentation.
Gelb, Janice. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Writing>XML>Technical Writing
Baselining Documentation on a Wiki
The dynamic nature of wikis can cause a few headaches when you need to baseline documentation that's on a wiki to correspond with the release of your product. This blog post looks at some ways in which you can try baselining wiki content.
DMN Communications (2008). Articles>Documentation>Technical Writing>Wikis
With constantly changing deadlines and last minute major revisions, how can technical writers ever hope to create quality documents? Members of the STC Quality Special Interest Group (SIG) will present some basic concepts that will provide insights into ways you can improve the quality of your documentation. They will look at what is meant by 'quality documentation', how documentation quality can be measured, how quality can be implemented in documentation processes, how ISO 9000 requirements can be adapted to help improve the documentation process, and how the relationship between developers and writers can impact documentation quality.
Rupel, Roberta A., Lori H. Fisher, Donald S. Lenk, Ralph E. Robinson and Richard Colvin. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Writing>Quality>Technical Writing
When giving overview information, be concise. Save the details and flowing language for those that want them or have the time, but don't slow down the skimmer. This doesn't mean skip the details, just keep them from people who don't need them.
Bricklin, Dan. Good Documents (1998). Articles>Writing>Workplace>Technical Writing
There has been a tremendous growth in the software industry and some growth in technical writing. Most of my columns ten years ago were rants about the poor state of our manuals and our software. Today, I think the humblest of companies is producing great stuff. The reason for it is simple--globalisation and the Internet.
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2002). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing
Becoming a Freelance Technical Writer
If you're considering a move to the contract side of the fence, you might want to think about the questions in this blog post before making a decision.
DMN Communications (2008). Careers>Freelance>Writing>Technical Writing
Becoming a Technical Writer in Three Easy Steps 
If you are considering a career change, you should become familiar with the potential requirements and compensation. Knowing as much as you can about a profession can help you decide if it is appropriate for you. This book is intended for beginning and would-be technical writers.
Kolunovsky, Nina. STC Toronto (1996). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing
Being Personal isn't About Being Their "Buddy"
I have written often about the value of writing online in a personal voice. In particular, emails and newsletters lend themselves to a genuine, personal tone.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2004). Articles>Collaboration>Writing>Technical Writing
The Benefits of Good Technical Documentation
In today's complex global economy, good technical documentation is essential. We have all been frustrated when it is lacking -- when we can't find what we need in an owner's manual, when on-line help is no help at all, when newsletter articles are confusing, when installation instructions are incomplete, or when we can't find what we need on a web site.
Winzig Consulting Services, LLC (1999). Resources>Writing>Technical Writing>Technical Writing
Best Jobs in America 2006: Technical Writing
Money Magazine and Salary.com rate careers on salary and job prospects. Technical writing comes in as the thirteenth best career in America.
Betriebsanleitungen für Anlagen 
Der Normenunterausschuss NATG-F des Deutschen Instituts für Normung e.V. ist derzeit damit befasst, Regeln zur Erstellung von Betriebsanleitungen für Anlagen zu erarbeiten.
Doculine (2002). (German) Articles>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing
Beyond Internationalization: Multicultural Education in the Professional Writing Contact Zone

To bridge the gap between composition and professional communication studies, we should add multiculturalism to the widely accepted international perspective in professional communication instruction, thus transforming the classroom into a contact zone (Pratt). The practical necessity of intercultural communication in a global marketplace necessitates internationalization. The international perspective, accounting for the heterogeneity of the technical communication audience, focuses on audience analysis and leads us to encourage students to learn about the multiple, cultural layers of audience. A multicultural perspective, however, can teach students of professional communication about the complex relationship between language and ideology and the underlying forces that shape and reflect the ways we use language. Multiculturalism's critical component provides insights into the structures and ideologies of domination/subordination and provides students with the linguistic, intellectual, and moral tools for resisting fear and prejudices. Likewise, the international perspective in professional communication can inform issues of audience analysis in composition.
Grobman, Laurie. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1999). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing
Beyond the Mechanical: Technical Writing Revisited 
Optimism about the future of technical writing can be sustained only if we persist in setting for technical writing the same standards we apply to other sophisticated modes of writing and require refinement in style as well as accuracy in content. The importance of content in technical writing, of the information presented, may seduce us into seeing technical writing as purely a form of language engineering and into teaching our students to perform mechanical writing tasks, churning out dull reports to fit mindlessly into the institutional norms of industry and government.
Iyasere, Marla Mudar. JAC (1988). Articles>Writing>TC>Technical Writing
Beyondwords is an online space for professional writers to share, create, learn, and explore what it means to be a part of the professional writing community.
beyondwords. Resources>Business Communication>Technical Writing>Blogs
Bibliography on Assessment Issues in Engineering Communication
A bibliography on engineering communication assessment.
Rice University (1999). Resources>Bibliographies>Engineering>Technical Writing
The Biggest Lies Heard by Technical Writers

This list is the result of a thread started on the Techwr-l listserver group about the biggest lies we, as technical writers, hear on an almost weekly basis.
Documentia (2003). Humor>Writing>Technical Writing
Blog on Technical Writing, Usability, and More
Suman Kumar's weblog on technical writing, usability, tips, tricks and more!
Kumar, Suman. Blogspot. Resources>Writing>Technical Writing>Blogs
Boredom: The Secret of Tech Writing 
Of course, it's not 100% all of the time boring. Just some of it, on a fairly regular but not intolerable basis. But boring all the same.
Higgins, Lisa. TECHWR-L (2000). Humor>Writing>Technical Writing
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