UnTechnical Writing is the handbook for writers in the high-tech world. It covers the art, science and politics of writing and producing technical books and documents for the consumer audience. It helps writers do their jobs quickly and more easily. It contains hints tips, methods and procedures for working with editors, managers, graphic artists and other writers. It shows writers how to get, grow and hone the skills they need to explain technology to the consumer audience. Perhaps most importantly, it teaches writers how to add life, and even fun, to their technical writing--so it gets read.
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Bremer learned the methods and principles of writing he calls untechnical writing from 10 years experience as a writer and manager in the entertainment software business, including working for the company that produced the very successful SimCity computer game. Bremer deals specifically, and thoroughly, with the varied sources and purposes of writing in this field; which he sees as a new field of writing calling for the new approaches to writing he expounds. He gives writers clear-headed, experienced guidance on how to make different sorts of technical subjects comprehensible and applicable to general readers. This is obviously an important task in today's growing technological society. Bremer's timely manual is a highly-recommended guide and reference for any writer wishing to write comprehensibly and effectively about technical subjects for non-technical readers. -- Henry Berry, Editor/Publisher, The Small Press Book Review
From the Author
A PERSONAL NOTE
Unlike technical writing--but very UnTechnical in nature--this is a personal book. In it I tell of personal experiences, battles won and lost, lessons learned and my own philosophy of writing and the writing life.
There is no absolutely right or wrong way to write. What I state here are the things that I believe, and that have worked for me on one or more occasions. I approached this book as if I were summarizing all the information I wanted to share with a new writer on my staff, and I offer you the same challenge that I offered them: unless you can come up with something better, try it this way. If you can come up with something better, teach me.
Feel free to contact me about this book and about your writing experi-ences, tips, tricks and methods. Contact information can be found later in this book.
COMING SOON TO A PAGE NEAR YOU
The next eight chapters of this book will help you write, work, orga-nize, present, wrangle, philosophize, craft, finish and otherwise deal with the work, people, places and problems related to your writing.
If you have basic writing skills, have a love of things technical, and enjoy explaining things to people, the information in this book will help you produce better work and enjoy your writing. You may even get some fan mail.
The information I present is grouped into these chapters:
The UnTechnical Writer covers writer selection, skills, development and attitude. The Nontechnical Reader covers ways to identify and think about your target audience. UnTechnical Writing presents a number of handy hints, tips, tools, techniques and suggestions that can save you time and pain while making your work more effective. Editing covers the ways and means of fine-tuning your writing and confirming its accuracy. People and Politics helps you handle the other human beings that you have to deal with to get your work done. Layout and Graphic Arts covers the polishing and presentation of the document, as well as dealing with graphic artists. Interface Design covers the basics of understanding and designing products, hardware and 1software, so they are better suited to humans--even and especially nontechnical humans. Philosophy is where I really pontificate on lessons learned over many years of writing. Exhibits are sample forms, lists and worksheets that may be helpful to you in your writing.
A WARNING
A lot of this book encourages you to break out of the Technical Writer box, and think and learn and do things that, in many companies, writers aren't expected to do. This can be liberating, but it can also cause problems. Take it slowly. You can't declare yourself a new person and expect a company to instantly change their ways of doing and thinking. Change is a slow process.
Don't lose your day job while working towards your goals.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
One chapter "borrowed" from Donald Norman,
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This review is from: Untechnical Writing - How to Write About Technical Subjects and Products So Anyone Can Understand (Untechnical Press Books for Writers) (Paperback)
I can't understand why this has had so many good reviews. I'm sick of these "soft science" books! It's unoriginal... There's too much filler... But not enough detail... A couple of good things: the author points to children's books as the best place to learn about clear, simple writing and also gives some idea of the personal aspect of being a technical writer (contract versus permanent, office versus home). But "borrowing" is wrong, so one star only.
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Add this book to your resource toolbox,
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This review is from: Untechnical Writing - How to Write About Technical Subjects and Products So Anyone Can Understand (Untechnical Press Books for Writers) (Paperback)
One of the first things I noticed about this book as I flipped through it before reading was the use of quotations. They caught my eye and made me stop more than once to read the rest of the section before going back to where I started. I had to force myself to stop reading the quotations and go back to the beginning. Bravo, Mr. Bremer, for making me anticipate each section and the great quotations I knew it would contain.This isn't your typical "how to write user documentation" book. If you're looking for dry, technically-scientific terms and long winded sentences, don't read this book. Warning: This book isn't for everyone who wants to be a technical writer or a better technical writer. If you are looking for a lesson in grammar, don't read this book. If you are expecting to learn how to type or use a word processor, forget reading this book. However, if you are looking for a new, innovative way to write clear, concise instructions for the layman consumer audience, then make yourself comfortable and read away. This is your book. Caution: This book may cause you to see technical documentation in a new light. You may become overly excited and expect your company to immediately adopt your new ideals and change their documentation or product lifecycle processes. It's very obvious, right from the beginning that Mr. Bremer knows what he's talking about and can express himself very well. He has a firm grasp on who the reader is and how to sort through the garbage and find that reader the gems. He describes the different readers and how to best reach each one. Best of all, he doesn't cop a "holier-than-thou" attitude. Even though we can tell he's "been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt," he keeps his opinions low key. I, for one, am grateful. I refuse to take any technical author seriously who tells me that their way is the ONLY way. Mr. Bremer makes it very clear that what he's writing about are ideals and suggestions that have worked for him in one form or another and may not work for everyone. Mr. Bremer's basic philosophy is to keep everything simple. "Simple in language. Simple in style. Simple in organization. Keep Occam's Razor handy, and use it often." For those who don't know, Occam's Razor is the rule that if there are two ways to do something, the simpler one is the better one. That rule has always been a personal favorite of mine and I am glad to see it used here.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book about writing for the Untechnical,
This review is from: Untechnical Writing - How to Write About Technical Subjects and Products So Anyone Can Understand (Untechnical Press Books for Writers) (Paperback)
Michael Bremer's book, Untechnical Writing, is an excellent guide for beginning technical writers and for technical writers who write for a non-technical audience. The book focuses on how to deliver information in an effective, enjoyable style that will keep your readers from falling asleep but still give them all of the information they need.For the beginning writer, Bremer provides an excellent introduction into the technical, writing and interpersonal skills that will help distinguish a good technical writer from a bad one. He readily admits that even he can't uphold all of those standards all of the time, but what he provides is an ideal to work toward. Bremer has built his career around delivering technical information to the general reader. He often writes for game developers and other consumer software companies. His insights into delivering information in a fresh and readable manner are excellent. Some of the important skills he discusses are knowing how to analyze and respect your readers so that you can write from a perspective that is best for them, rather than from your point of view on a product. He also encourages writers to be more involved in the design of a product whenever possible, so that problems and procedures that may need extensive documentation in the beginning may be reduced to something as simple as a new button to click on. Bremer also explains the benefits, detriments, and pitfalls of a career as a technical writer, and helps explain some of the choices writers need to make, such as whether to aim for contract and freelance work or to pursue a permanent position. He also discusses the benefits of working for established companies versus working for start-up firms.Bremer displays an excellent knowledge of technical writing and his book has much to offer. This book is aimed at writers who focus on consumer products and non-technical audiences, however. If you are writing for a moderately or highly technical audience, much of his advice will not apply. Some of his advice is common to any technical writing project, but the delivery styles that work for consumer audiences often do not apply to more technical audiences.
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