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Subject:RE: Best Documentation From:"David Chinell" <dchinell -at- hotmail -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:Thu, 10 Feb 2000 05:55:53 PST
Listers:
I was thinking the other night that acting and writing are similar.
Sure, I can act in some senses. I can fool people for fun, or carry off a
reasonable white lie. But I couldn't do the job of a professional actor,
because I haven't spent years learning the mechanics of creating the outward
appearance and delivery required in order to convey an appropriate
experience to the audience.
I'm certain that working blindly from my own internal experience wouldn't
create the correct external appearance.
It's the same with writing. Many people can write passably. But to be a
professional technical communicator I think you have to devote some time to
learning the mechanics of writing and divorcing yourself from your "natural"
writing technique.
I don't think there are many good "natural" technical writers. No matter how
clearly novices may think they are expressing themselves, it's the end
result that counts.
Bear
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