The best answer to "what is technical writing" I've heard

[Arnold]

Professor said this on the first day and it stuck with me:

"Technical writing is the opposite of poetry. Poetry makes the familiar strange. Technical writing makes the strange familiar."

That's it. That's the whole thing. Poetry takes ordinary language and twists it to make you see differently. Technical writing takes complicated, unfamiliar stuff and makes it ordinary enough to use. Both are valuable. Both require skill. But they're working in opposite directions. I think about that a lot when I'm struggling with an assignment. I'm not failing to be creative—I'm succeeding at being clear. Different goals, different tools, different measures of success. It helped me stop comparing myself to my creative writing friends. We're doing different things. Anyway thought I'd share in case it helps anyone else who's struggling with the identity of this field. One good sentence can change your whole perspective.

 

[ThomasCher]

It's genuinely one of the best definitions I've ever heard.

What strikes me is how it reframes value . We're conditioned to think creative writing is somehow "higher" or more artistic. But making the strange familiar is incredibly difficult and deeply human work. When someone reads your documentation and just... understands? Without frustration? That's a gift.

Poetry and technical writing are both acts of translation. One translates ordinary experience into heightened awareness. The translates specialized knowledge into ordinary competence. Both require deep empathy—for language, for the reader, for the subject.

Your professor gave you a lens to see your work clearly. And you just passed it on.