Reply to What are the specific differences between a technical writer and a professional "writer" ?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It really depends on the job: a technical writer who writes instruction manuals will have different skills and experience than a technical writer who writes project status reports for a business.  The job may or may not require education/experience in the technical field at issue: sometimes you really have to understand the details, and sometimes you just have to be able to take what the engineers/scientists tell you and turn it into clear and understandable English.

FYI, I am not a technical writer myself, but I work with several and DH got his start that way.  All the technical writers I know have experience editing others' work, and their work is reviewed by others (peers or otherwise).  Many, but not all, do some basic research as part of their work.  None of those I know have backgrounds in journalism; most are English majors (literature or otherwise) although some schools do offer technical writing specialties.  All would consider themselves professional writers, in that they are paid for writing and editing.[/quote]

Also, journalists cover the "news" and I put that in quotes b/c that word is elastic -- from breaking news to general societal trends.

Writing manuals, grant proposals etc. is a different kind of writing.

[/quote]

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