Grateful For This Blog

I mentioned this before, but sometimes it's worth restating. No matter how much blood, sweat, and tears we pour onto technical documentation, it's not ours. Those who of us who are technical writers are just hired wordsmiths for someone's else product. They can take the credit for it, even though we have labored on creating or editing clear documentation that presents a message for their audience. Without us, their customers would probably be confused on they offer or how to work their stuff. (Now, there's really bad documentation out there that's confusing that does this anyway. But that's another discussion for another day.)

When I first became a technical writer, the most stinging part initially was I had no byline. The document's byline was the company's. But I realized over time: It's not about me. It's about the company I represent and their customer. God has continued to use technical writing to show me of this fact. 

I would be lying to say I'm totally okay with this fact what we write isn't ours. But I can also say I have embraced this fact and it continues to make me a better writer. I realize what I do isn't about me. Sounds like a contradiction. It's just a lifelong process of accepting this.  I'll let you decide whether I am contradicting myself.

I have this blog because it's something I can call my own. I don't care if it gets a lot of traffic. I don't care to be famous. It's overrated anyway. I just wanted something where I can showcase my writing style. I am grateful for it. I also use it to help those who are on their journey with technical writing or even just writing in general. We are all writers, regardless of our stripes.

But ultimately, nothing I write is my own, not even this blog, my novel, or anything else I write. It all belongs to God. What I do should glorify Him. Technical writing just helped me see this eventually.

“(A Psalm of David.) The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” -- Psalm 24:1 KJV