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I am the "lone writer" and have been at many of the companies I've worked
for and with over the last 40 years. Technical accuracy is paramount, but so
are the mechanics of writing...style, spelling, and so on. I tend to focus
first on the accuracy aspect for my first draft because I write both
hardware and software manuals. If you mess up a procedure, then you could
possibly be responsible for destroying a multi million dollar machine.
However, in order to ensure the end user is more apt to use my document than
call customer service, I strive to make it as presentable and grammatically
correct as possible without missing the deadline. I have experienced too
many documents that may be technically accurate but are so poorly written
that they are essentially unusable. You need both, and you can do both if
you are technically competent in both the technology you are writing about
and the language you are using.
My dream is to have time for several edits (or even to employ an editor),
but until that happens, I strive for technical accuracy with clear, concise
and grammatically correct writing...and lots of good illustrations.
Al Geist
Technical Communicator, Help, Web Design, Video, Photography
Office/Msg: 802-872-9190
Cell: 802-578-3964
E-mail: al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com
Website: www.geistassociates.com
See Also:
Fine Art Photography
Website: www.geistarts.com
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