TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
> I searched on
> Amazon and found some 51 hits, as I recall, on the
> phase: structured
> "technical writing". Surely, something in there
> would tell you something
> that you don't already know about technical writing.
Sharon:
I looked at the first seventy of these. The only
thing these books say about structured writing is,
basically, "Ya gotta have structure". The offer
nothing in terms of saying: "Here are the recommended
steps to structured writing."
Sharon Burton:
> No one can give you specific steps that will result
> in excellent product
> documentation every time, Tony, and you know that
Tony Markos:
How about recommended steps and techniques? There has
to be more to structured writing than statements
expounding "Ya gotta do it" and fluffy comments about
it being a "concept" or "way of thinking".
Sharon Burton:
...the specific steps for finding out and structuring
and presenting to the user each manual are different
because you have different work environments,
different audiences, and different needs.
Tony Markos:
Ok, so there is no such thing as a structured approach
to writing. Seems you agree that SR is just "blue
smoke and mirrors". My original question, Sharon, was
"What Are Writing Skills?". I was told that the
"meat" of writing skills is structured writing. Are
writing skills then "blue smoke and mirrors"?
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Make Yahoo! your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo: http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Your Ad Here! Have a product or service you'd like to get some attention for? Use this space to get the word out! Contact lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com for more details.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
