Re: Boring discussions

[David Blyth <dblyth -at- QUALCOMM -dot- COM>]

Willard and all;

I just ignore the discussions on grammar unless it involves my job.
But the truth of the matter is that Tech Writing covers so MUCH
territory that:

   A) You'll never be bored.

   B) There will always be at least one part of Tech Writing
      that is a real pain.

Hey - nothing's perfect.

I also have to agree that Tech Writing involves a certain amount
of tedium.  You _have_ to focus on the details and get them down
right.  For just one example, I'll sometimes spend 45 minutes
writing one paragraph just to make sure it's technically accurate.
And, of course, the reader just skims through it and says "Oh.
That's obvious.".

Good writing should be so clear that it's obvious.  But it can
take sheer brute force and tedium to get to that point in the
first place.  Not always.  Just sometimes.  Still, we do it because
(pick one or all):

  o We're committed to writing
  o We love it and want to communicate
  o We're insane masochists

I second Murrie Burgan's summary.  We can be tired, exasperated,
and ready to pull our hair out - to which I'll add "about ready
to shoot someone".

But it's always worth the price.

David (The Man) Blyth
Technical Writer
QUALCOMM

Standard Disclaimers apply.