Customer Reviews

Untechnical Writing - How to Write About Technical Subjects and Products So Anyone Can Understand (Untechnical Press Books for Writers)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I can't understand why this has had so many good reviews. I'm sick of these "soft science" books!

It's unoriginal...
One whole chapter (Interface Design) is taken -- not word for word, but idea for idea, without any credit -- from Donald Norman's book The Psychology of Everyday Things: "affordances", "mappings", door handle design, annoying car key systems. I can't understand how this is legal and why noone has picked up on it here. It certainly made me angry that someone pitching himself as a writer's advocate should feel free to take another person's work like this. In general, it's all been said better elsewhere: Elements of Style for writing, Don't Make Me Think for interface design, Secrets of Successful Websites for project management.

There's too much filler...
The author admits that many sofware manufacturers ask writers to deliberately "fatten" books to make the product seem more substantial, and this seems to be one of his talents!
- There are endless jokey asides that get in the way of real information.
- Dozens of copied-from-a-book quotes and jokes.
- A page and a half weighing up Mac versus PC; a long, unenlightening side bar about his wife's problems with a toaster; platitudinous guff about the writer's "craft" and "philosophy".
- Repetition: writing is hard, writers have to be tactful, software always changes at the last minute, etc., etc.

But not enough detail...
- Bremer gripes about office politics without making any concrete suggestions on how to deal with conflicts of interest and other project management problems.
- He gives very little idea of how to plan, structure, revise, condense (or expand) technical writing more effectively: just a questionable assumption that technical writing should be more personalised (using the first and second person, jokes and quotes) and that terseness is over-rated.

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.

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.

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.

Michael Bremer provides very practical guidance to writing on technical topics for writers of all experience levels. He gives tips and techniques for making very technical subject matter easy to understand. He includes a wealth of checklists and forms that can be used unchanged or modified for specific purposes.

Bremer's book covers more than technical writing techniques and aids. It addresses the human side of the technical writing field by addressing such issues as conflicting priorities, missed deadlines, and team dynamics. The book includes suggestions for dealing with clients, graphic artists and subject matter experts. Bremer gives readers the benefits of his years of experience as a manager of technical writers, including both the highlights and the pitfalls.

Bremer writes this book in a very accessible style. The language is clear, direct, and understandable. His engaging style gives sparkle to what otherwise might be a very dull topic.

I think I would've found this book more helpful had I been newer to the technical writing game, because much of what I read sounded like obvious common sense. But, reading this book did serve as a good gauge to compare what I've learned on my own to the author's experience. The book is a very easy read and Bremer's style is very snappy, linear, and concise. I also enjoyed the quotes interspersed throughout the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not a full-time writer but has been given writing tasks, or any new technical writer (preferably someone working in the software industry).

I recently finished the book UnTechnical Writing by Michael Bremer. This is a quirky book for technical writers, and focuses on how to make your technical writing "readable" by untechnical people. Bremer has done a lot of writing for software such as The Sims, so he knows his craft. He also is involved in filmmaking, so you can guess he brings a lot of creativity into his writing.

I liked this book a lot. The tone of the book is conversational, replete with interesting quotes related to the subject of writing. While the book isn't one that will "teach" you how to write, it will help hone your technical writing skills such that you can effectively communicate to a non-technical readership. All too often, technical writers write for other techies. This may be fine if that's the audience, but usually it's not.

Another feature of this book is that it will help you understand the entire process of editing and layout. At this stage of my writing career, I can put words to paper and send it off to be "edited". That part is still a mystery to me, as well as what it takes to get a clean copy into a layout ready for publishing. After reading this book, I have a better idea of what others are doing to my original submission.

Good book if you do technical writing...

Sorry, but this is too superficial for most users. I have been looking for some type of technical writing manual for a group of people who need some training. This is a series of to-do lists with no how-to's. There is a lot of prose and how Michael Bremer likes to do things, but he writes as though everyone has the skills, and they simply need a refresher of all of the tips that are already on the internet. BTW - the author worked at Maxis which could explain why the cover includes a glowing review from Maxis founder. While I would like someone to buy my copy - it has no markings! - I can't really recommend spending the money.

Untechnical Writing - How to Write About Technical Subjects and Products So Anyone Can Understand by Michael Bremer. Untechnical Press. CA. 1999. 227 pp. trade paper (0-9669949-0-6).charts; forms; appendices; bibliography; index.

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. Although he calls this style untechnical writing, as the subtitle notes, it involves technical subjects, particularly manuals for computers and software. He does not simply apply the familiar precepts of good, serviceable, effective business communications and other nonfiction writing to technical writing in the computer field. Rather, 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 today1s growing technological society. Bremer1s 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, Book Reviewer

Editor/Publisher, The Small Press Book Review

Michael Bremer's book makes it easy to write to non-technical audiences about technical subjects. He gives tips, techniques, hints and lessons learned from his ten years of experience working in the software industry and writing about technical topics. He provides forms and templates which will help gather information and organize the writing process. His advice is always interesting and practical. He rightly emphasizes that there is more than one way to approach a writing assignment depending on your audience.

I especially enjoyed his conversational tone and humor to help get the reader through this potentially dry subject. It's refreshing to find an author who is working to eliminate the ever-increasing division between the average person and technology.

This book is worthwhile for anyone who will be writing about technical subjects. The beginners will gain from Bremer's experience, but the more advanced writers will also benefit from Bremer's fresh outlook on the subject.

This is a very good guide to the practicalities of being a writer of software documentation. Bremer certainly knows whereof he speaks; seventy percent of Maxis's customers read the documentation, versus 10% generally.

I especially liked his advice on improving your skills as technical writer, which includes not only standard recommendations like "read and analyze technical writing," but also "read good popular science books," "read screenplays," and "read good children's books."

He seems a bit unclear on the concept of process. The chapters on writing and editing have major sections on "Process" that have very little to do with what I would call process (i.e., the phases and types of activities involved in doing something). His sample spreadsheets and checklists also seem to run together phases of work and deliverables from those phases. I have no doubt that Bremer *has* an effective process, he does not explain it clearly. This is unfortunate, since the literature on technical writing needs a treatment of the tech writing process for the individual writer (as opposed to the doc project manager, addressed by JoAnn Hackos's _Managing Your Documentation Projects_).