Re: 10 Things All Technical Writers Should Do
2. You have no emotional attachments to your work. You see it as product that
needs to be perfected, not an expression of yourself.
I think you *can* have an emotional attachment to your work and still be objective--if you understand that "your work" isn't just the writing, but the product itself. Wanting to make that product (and its documentation) perfect does involve active involvement, and some of it involves passion.
<snip>
5. Answer the 5 Golden Questions:
1. What is it?
2. What does it do?
3. What is its purpose?
4. How does it work (or how does it do what it is supposed to do)?
5. Why is it relevant?
These questions are system-centric, not user-centric. Try these instead:
1. Who will use this product?
2. What are their goals?
3. How will the product help them reach their goals?
4. When they are having trouble reaching their goals, how can I design information so they can most quickly and easily get the information they need to continue?
5. What will make users happy?
It's the difference between being user-focused and engineering-focused.
<snip>
8. Good writing is 5-10% fonts, styles, and grammar and 90-95% brain-numbing,
keyboard pecking, intellectually draining drudgery. If this ratio tilts to
high to the fonts and styles side, you're probably not focusing on the right
things.
Good writing has nothing to do with the physical task of findling keyboards. Good writing is a rare field (even within a field that has "writing" in its title) and requires regular practice to stay good.
<snip>
--
--
Chuck Martin
User Assistance & Experience Engineer
twriter "at" sonic "dot" net www.writeforyou.com
"I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
The day may come when the courage of Men fail, when we forsake our
friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day!
This day, we fight!"
- Aragorn
"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given you."
- Gandalf
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