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Re: Solution! RE: pushpins

Subject: Re: Solution! RE: pushpins
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2003 14:05:45 -0700


Sean Brierley wrote:

I'd say, it's
about expressing your company's personality and turns
of phrase.

I see your point, but I wonder whether the analogy between self-expression and expressing your company's personality isn't a bit thin. Usually, tech-writing wants to convey the same basic values no matter which company you're writing for. More personality, I suspect, is expressed in design than in writing.

With regards to the rest, I want to write well and be
right, both. It's not really an either or thing for
me. I perceive I can have both.

But you can't in any absolute sense. Except for very basic circumstances, there's rarely a single answer. Authorities differ, and your answer can change with the criteria you choose to apply. And, no matter what choice you make, some people may question it.

Under these circumstances, concern about being right seems to be wasted effort at best, and a distraction from the true concerns of writing at worst. The reason I keep hammering away at this point is that I've seen too many writers diluting their efforts and attention in worrying about being right. Maye not in your case, Sean, but I've seen writers - especially inexperienced ones - crippling themselves worrying over being right to the point that they had no energy left over for anything else. They would be far better off asking themselves, "What do I want to say?" and "What's the best way to say it?" than in being concerned about whether they are right. Since you can't be right, it follows that you should concentrate on something you can control: writing well.

--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604.421.7177
http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield

"Dipping into dustbins, scrambling for a smear,
Sniffing out a scandal: could the fellow be a queer?
Do not be disheartened by what you cannot find,
Embroider or invent if you're inclined."
- Leon Rosselson, "Song of the Free Press"



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References:
Re: Solution! RE: pushpins: From: Sean Brierley

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