The Not-Boring Tech Writer

Kate Mueller

All technical writers have one thing in common: their peers outside of the industry believe technical writing is a boring career. They think we lack creativity; they think we only eat tuna salad for lunch; and they think our work is reserved to instructional manuals that they don't even use. This podcast gives you the tools to prove them wrong! In each episode we talk to the humans behind the docs, sharing stories, experience and expertise to inspire, entertain, and give you knowledge and skills you can use in your life as a not-boring tech writer.

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Bridging the gap from “not technical enough” to “technical” with Janine Chan

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

02/20/25 • 56 min

📣 Special announcement: The Not-Boring Tech Writer team (Kate and Chad) will be at Write the Docs Portland in May. Thanks to KnowledgeOwl's sponsorship, they’ll be wearing KnowledgeOwl and The Not-Boring Tech Writer t-shirts and giving out The Not-Boring Tech Writer stickers. If you're attending WTD Portland this year, please say hi to Kate and Chad, let them know what you think of the show, and swing by the conference swag table to grab some free stickers so you can flaunt your not-boring tech writer status with the world!
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In this episode, I’m talking with Janine Chan, a technical writer and Write the Docs community moderator. We talk about how feeling “not technical enough” is as much about attitude and approach as it is about knowledge and ways you can bridge the gap to a more technical future.

Janine and I discuss the fact that there’s no defined/established set of skills or training to become a technical writer. This lovely flexibility can also lead to a lot of imposter syndrome or feeling like you’re “not technical enough.” But through continuous lifelong learning, changing your attitude or the story you tell yourself, asking for help, and letting go of perfectionism, you can transition to a more empowered, technical version of yourself.

Along the way we discuss the wonders of indoor plumbing, the fact that growing up to a be a tech writer isn’t typically on kids’ radar, our tendency to get curious when we’re frustrated about something, the importance of trying to answer a question before you seek help, how to be generous in requesting help, how generally awesome and generous with knowledge people are, how the experience of knowing little makes us more empathetic writers, and so so much more.

About Janine Chan

Janine is a technical writer based in Calgary, Canada. When she's not writing software documentation or shoehorning sociolinguistics into conversations, she's usually either outside, or hunkered down trying to make room in her lap for both a knitting project and her cat. (She recognizes that "not-boring" is a relative term.) You can find her on LinkedIn and the Write the Docs Slack, where her inboxes are always open for more tech writing chats! She promises she won't write in third person like she is now.

Resources discussed in this episode:

Write the Docs

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Transcript

Kate Mueller: [00:00:05] Welcome to The Not-Boring Tech Writer, a podcast sponsored by KnowledgeOwl. Together, we explore topics and hear from other writers to help inspire us, deepen our skills and foster our distinctly not-boring tech writing community. Hi, I'm Kate Mueller. In today's episode, I talk with Janine Chan, a senior technical writer and a Write the Docs community moderator. We talk about that feeling of not being technical enough and ways to level up your technical skills so you can flip the narrative to, 'I'm a technical writer who just hasn't learned how to do this yet'. Hello my not-boring tech writers. I am so excited this week to be joined by a writer that I met kind of by happenstance. I gave a talk at one of the virtual Write the Docs Portlands a few years ago on Beating the Virginia Blues, and this woman happened to be my moderator for that session and ended up being amazing. She handled the other person who was doing Q and As audio networking with total aplomb. I can say she is both great under pressure and also not boring and a delightful human to...

Kate sounds off on mice and iterating

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

04/03/25 • 17 min

In this solo episode, Kate shares an update on her content update progress, muses about the similarities between mice infestations and docs projects, and reflects more on Kenzie Woodbridge’s interview (S3:E6) and how we choose what we work on.

Since Episode 5, I’ve continued my work to update the KnowledgeOwl Support Knowledge Base to align with major navigation and UI changes from December. I’ve now updated roughly 400 pages and reorganized a total of five Features subcategories (one more since Episode 5).

Most of note this month: I overhauled our Search documentation. This work was necessary due to new search settings and major changes to the search configuration pages. It was also the first feature documentation I wrote at KnowledgeOwl in 2018, and I’ve mostly tried to make minor tweaks to it instead of massively updating it. Thanks to some very positive feedback on the content type-inspired reorganization I’ve been doing elsewhere, I was able to make some much better content organization and substance changes.

I’m also battling a mouse infestation in my rented house, and I spent some time in this episode comparing that process to working on documentation projects.

This leads me into ruminating on the ways we can try to make the world a better, more inclusive place. I’ve been including a lot of Kenzie’s suggestions in my style guide content updates in this audit:

Use actual headings. (Not usually a problem in our docs, but a good review item anyway!)
Use sequential headings and make sure no levels are skipped. (This one does occasionally slip in, especially in older docs, so it’s been good to review.)
Use link text that has more meaning than "See more" or "Click here". (Again, not a steady thing, but a good review item.)
Add alt text to images. (Doing a lot of this!)

I like the idea that, as content creators, content accessibility is well within our area even if we don’t feel qualified as experts in it. These accessibility areas are also solid best practices for content, information scent, wayfinding, and search engine optimization. I encourage you to try these or other small, iterative improvements that will make your docs a better place to be in the next month.

Resources discussed in this episode:

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Introducing The Not-Boring Tech Writer Reboot

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

01/09/25 • 13 min

Meet our new host Kate Mueller and get the inside scoop on how The Not-Boring Tech Writer (TNBTW) will work moving forward.

Kate Mueller is the Documentation Goddess of KnowledgeOwl, a seasoned technical writer and owner of knowledgewithsass, a knowledge management coaching service. She’s written and maintained documentation for companies in broadcasting, financial services, IT, and software for 15+ years. She’ll be hosting TNBTW moving forward.

In this episode, Kate discusses her vision for TNBTW: a podcast dedicated to everyone who is writing technical documentation, including those who may not feel comfortable calling themselves tech writers. Whether you create product documentation, support documentation, READMEs, or any other technical content—and whether you deal with imposter syndrome, lack formal training, or find yourself somewhere in the gray area between technical communications and general writing—the TNBTW reboot might be your new favorite podcast. Kate talks about her own imposter syndrome using the tech writer label and recounts her tech writer villain origin story.

We plan to release two episodes per month: one episode will maintain the traditional TNBTW format of interviewing a guest and focusing on useful skills or tools that can help you improve your tech writing skills; the other episode will be a behind-the-scenes look into what Kate’s working on, struggling with, or thinking about in her daily tech writing life.

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Transcript

Kate Mueller: [00:00:04] Welcome to The Not-Boring Tech Writer, a podcast sponsored by KnowledgeOwl. Together, we explore topics and hear from other writers to help inspire us, deepen our skills, and foster our distinctly not-boring tech writing community.
In today's episode, we relaunch the podcast and introduce you to our new (and hopefully not-boring) host. Spoiler, I'm neither Jacob nor Jared. My name is Kate Mueller. Hi, nice to meet you. When KnowledgeOwl decided to relaunch The Not-Boring Tech Writer, they asked me to serve as the host and my first thought was immediate panic. Am I a real enough tech writer to host this show? I feel more like a 'Pinocchio' tech writer. What if everybody figures it out? I'm not formally trained in technical communication or technical writing, and I do have formal training in both writing, generally at an information management, but I've never been super confident or comfortable with the title of tech writer. I've been doing technical writing for at least the last 15 years. I started with documenting databases I designed and built for coworkers to give them instructions on how to use them. Then I moved into user guides for third party software my company used, and eventually ended up writing support documentation for the software companies I worked for. I've helped write app copy and microcopy in two software products. I've written release notes and product newsletters and 'Getting Started' guides, and I've taken thousands of screenshots. Working at KnowledgeOwl, I've brainstormed and advised customers on all kinds of things, including information architecture, content best practices, authoring and auditing processes, and getting buy-in and managing new knowl...

Skill #29: Understanding Your Reader (as a Whole)

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

11/18/19 • 35 min

One of the most important skills tech writers can have is the ability to analyze their audience—researching who’s using the product their documentation, understanding how they it, and most important, ensuring their goals are reflected in the documentation.

But as tech writers research their audience, digging deep into insights such as demographic and preferred device, tech writers can, admittedly, get caught up in the technical side of audience analysis and dismiss opportunities to understand their reader as a whole.

That’s why in this episode, we have Alexander Yant on the podcast: occupational therapist turned tech writer advocate who, as he’s searched for tech writing opportunities for himself, has reflected on his career in healthcare to share must-have insights for tech writers hoping to better understand their audience.

In this episode, Alexander shares how you can understand your readers as a whole, including why empathy is one of the most important aspects of audience analysis, how tech writers can boost their audience analysis skills, and how effective audience analysis can demonstrate your value as a tech writer.

Show Notes:

Skill #23: Transitioning into Tech Writing from Very-Much-Not Tech Writing

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

08/30/19 • 31 min

Think back to the early years of your career as you considered pursuing a career in technical writing. Unless you happened to pursue a formal education in technical writing; and perhaps land an internship, it’s a challenging period—just like any career change.

You have to learn the jargon of the technical writer; the networks with which they mingle; and the skills they use.

For people working in very-much-not technical writing hoping to make the transition, all of it can be overwhelming.

That’s why, in this episode, I have Chad Sterling on the podcast: Product Technical Communications Specialist at Kuka, an Austin-based robotics company. Before Chad joined Kuka, he worked as a hotel security director across the united states.

He enjoyed—and excelled at the work—however, after discovering his skill for writing and interest in technology, he made the switch to technical writing and has an excellent story to share about the process.

In this episode, Chad shares how you can transition to technical writing from very-much-not technical writing including:

Where to find a tribe of technical writers
How to use your existing skills to transition into technical writing
How to ramp up your skills to find your first gig

Show Notes:

Skill #17: Branding Your Work

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

05/30/19 • 40 min

As a technical writer, you’ve likely not considered branding yourself and your work—and understandably so: your documentation—no matter how masterful and easy to understand—often isn’t associated with yourself.

You don’t get a byline; you don’t get a image of yourself below the headline; instead, it’s just another piece of content created by “the documentation team.”

However, that doesn’t mean there’s value in creating your brand as a technical writer. And you can do so in ways that align with your philosophy and perspective of the industry.

Take Tom Johnson, for example, who’s built a brand for himself around his tech writing site, I’d Rather Be Writing (which, I highly recommend, as you’ll sense in this episode); or Sarah Maddox at Google Maps, who’s built a brand through her site, Ffeathers, combining her interests in technical writing and science fiction.

You have a unique perspective on technical writing that could build your brand while helping your peers lead more fulfilling careers—and in this episode, you’re gonna learn how to do it.

We have Ash Blankenship on the podcast: former fellow podcast co-host at Parskify podcast, where we first met, and today, is the founder at Acme Design: a web design agency that helps entrepreneurs and creatives build their brand.

In this episode, Ash shares how you can find your unique perspective on technical writing to brand your work, including:

How to use content to build your brand
How to choose the right platform to build your brand
How to build a tribe that believes in your approach to technical writing

Show Notes:

Skill #12: Teaching Technical Writing

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

10/30/18 • 26 min

The technical writer has a variety of valuable skills – such as making documents enjoyable to read and complex topics easy to understand – however, the skill that I think is most valuable for the technical writer is the desire to stay relevant and advance their career.

So we pick up a programming language; we get continued education; we dig into API documentation, hopefully through Tom Johnson’s course on his site, I’d rather be writing.

But there’s another way to advance our career in technical writing – one that many of you in industry have perhaps never considered: teaching technical writing.

Jobs in teaching technical writing are rising – a great opportunity for the new and seasoned technical writer alike to make a career shift – and in this episode, our guest, Kim Campbell, professor and chair of Technical Communication at the University of North Texas, will tell you how to make it happen, including:

how to gain the right skills
how to adopt the right mindset for teaching
how to enjoy a fulfilling career in academia

Show Notes:

Skill #11: Surviving in the Dev World

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

10/01/18 • 36 min

We all know that successful technical writers are more than writers: they’re designers; they’re knowledge managers; they’re support. However, for technical writers in the dev world, they’re expected to gain new skills, particularly, understanding (and writing) programming languages.

That’s a challenging next step for technical writers – and understandably so: We can create docs, but introducing programming languages can make technical writers wonder what it really takes to survive in the dev world.

In this episode, I chat with Michal Skowron and Pawel Kowaluk – technical writers at Guidewire Software in Kraków, Poland – about how you can survive in the dev world, including:

the technical writers’ role in a development company
how technical writers can gain trust and respect from developers
how technical writers can start learning programming languages

Show Notes:

Skill #9: Creating a Human Connection in Your Documentation

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

10/07/16 • 20 min

We’ve all read (and perhaps written) a boring document: the robot-like language, the walls of text. And we’re all familiar with the result: a disengaged reader who’s likely missed the message.

Enter John Espirian, freelance technical writer and Director at the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.

John believes the difference between a boring and a not-boring document comes down to one essential element: a human connection.

In this episode, John shares how you can create that human connection in your documentation, including:

how to better understand your end-users.
why your documentation tone must match the brand.
what simplicity means (and doesn’t mean).

Show Notes:

Pen Portraits
John Espirian (Twitter) (LinkedIn) (Facebook)
John’s site

Kate sounds off on content types

The Not-Boring Tech Writer

02/06/25 • 16 min

My current in-flight projects include updating nearly all of our documentation to reflect major changes to our user interface, which includes changes to screenshots, navigation options, and section/subsection labels. I’m also working on my long slog to convert all our screenshots from .png to .webp format. As I make all of those updates, I’m bringing our content into line with our current style guide (the first time I’ve used an explicit style guide in the KnowledgeOwl Support Knowledge Base).

I recently finished teaching my first Knowledge Management Master Class with KnowledgeOwl. This was mostly a success, though it was a sharp learning curve for me and I’m already full of ideas on what to do differently next time. It also humbled me since it made me view my own docs through the lens of all the best practices I was suggesting people employ–and realizing how often my docs fell short.

For me, the most fascinating takeaway was really digging into the concept of concept types or information typing. I’ve never done this as an explicit, intentional exercise. After researching various approaches, I’m sold on the underlying concept. My plan is to create some templates for each major content type, using The Good Docs Project’s templates as a starting point). I’m then going to use those templates as I update content in our Features category to test and refine the templates before gradually applying them to the entire knowledge base. I’ll be using tags to track my progress and identify the content type for each page, too. In Episode 5, I’ll report back on how I’m doing in my endeavors!

Resources discussed in this episode:

KnowledgeOwl Support KB
Diátaxis content types for software documentation
Dave Gash’s A Painless Introduction to Information Typing, which is a pretty solid introduction to Information Typing as it’s used in DITA and other frameworks
The Good Docs Project
Wisdom Wednesday on Use tags + Manage filters for fast docs updates/audits: Kate’s quick walkthrough on how she uses tags and Manage filters in KnowledgeOwl for content audits and updates

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Contact The Not-Boring Tech Writer team:

We love hearing your ideas for episode topics, guests, or general feedback:

Contact Kate Mueller:

Contact KnowledgeOwl:

KnowledgeOwl.com

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Transcript

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Not-Boring Tech Writer have?

The Not-Boring Tech Writer currently has 48 episodes available.

What topics does The Not-Boring Tech Writer cover?

The podcast is about Content Strategy, Podcasts, Technology, Business and Careers.

What is the most popular episode on The Not-Boring Tech Writer?

The episode title 'Documentarians for Diplomacy: Bringing the Mirth with Kat Stoica Ostenfeld' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Not-Boring Tech Writer?

The average episode length on The Not-Boring Tech Writer is 33 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Not-Boring Tech Writer released?

Episodes of The Not-Boring Tech Writer are typically released every 18 days, 13 hours.

When was the first episode of The Not-Boring Tech Writer?

The first episode of The Not-Boring Tech Writer was released on Mar 1, 2016.

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The Not-Boring Tech Writer

Kate Mueller

Top 10 The Not-Boring Tech Writer Episodes

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How many episodes does The Not-Boring Tech Writer have?

What topics does The Not-Boring Tech Writer cover?

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What is the average episode length on The Not-Boring Tech Writer?

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When was the first episode of The Not-Boring Tech Writer?

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