Re: "Know thy audience"; was: RE: What is "well Written"?

Subject: Re: "Know thy audience"; was: RE: What is "well Written"?
From: John Posada <jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com>
To: Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>, techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 08:49:33 -0700 (PDT)

> Some of my worst experiences as a manager have been the result of
> technical writers trying to be "creative" instead of being
> consistent and just following the specs and style guides.

> > Many job descriptions I've seen have listed some sort of
> > information synthesis as a job duty, and while I find that
> > requirement to be hopelessly vague (do they mean like "Make
> > something up"?), I do count it as a clue pointing to
> > conceptual creative work as an element of our job
> > description.

Problem solving creativity, yes. Writing creativity, not so much.
Here's how I want to be creative at my job. I walk out of a meeting
where all kinds of strange things are said, defined, and required. I
sit at my desk and try to figure out how I'm going to make all that
wierd stuff look like the normal stuff.

I don't want the deliverable to look creative. I want it to look
exactly like all the other stuff coming out of the department.

John Posada
Senior Technical Writer

"They say everyone needs goals. Mine is to live forever.
So far, so good."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

Now shipping: Help &amp; Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help &amp; Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.


References:
Re: "Know thy audience"; was: RE: What is "well Written"?: From: Gene Kim-Eng

Previous by Author: Re: "Know thy audience"; was: RE: What is "well Written"?
Next by Author: Re: "Know thy audience"; was: RE: What is "well Written"?
Previous by Thread: Re: "Know thy audience"; was: RE: What is "well Written"?
Next by Thread: Re: "Know thy audience"; was: RE: What is "well Written"?


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads