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Subject:Re: TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY From:"Bergen, Jane" <janeb -at- ANSWERSOFT -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 27 Jan 1998 14:57:30 -0600
It's too hypothetical, Roger, to answer. If I had to do ANYTHING with a
pencil/paper (other than jot down occasional notes for later
transcribing) or electric typewriter (other than addressing a single
envelope or filling out a form), I would not find it interesting. In
fact, I just plain wouldn't do it. I'm sure if I'd never used a PC, it
would be acceptable in the old "ignorance is bliss" cliche. I've even
started editing on-screen much more than I used to.
This question leads me to another....how many of you, when interviewing,
ask to see (if not offered a tour) the work facilities in which you
would be doing your technical writing? I heard a horror story about a
tech writer who quit a not-too-bad job for one he thought was better (a
start-up company with decent looking corporate offices, developing
hardware that used cutting-edge technology, etc.). It turned out that
the company hiring him didn't have a clue about what a tech writer needs
or does specifically. He was put in a windowless room with a 386, amber
monitor, and a DOS-based word processor. The guys upstairs (developers)
had the best equipment but they didn't think the writer needed it
because "all he did was write"! He lasted two weeks (just long enough to
line up something else). What a nightmare. It gave me chills hearing it.
Jane
Jane Bergen, Technical Writer,
AnswerSoft, Inc. Richardson, TX
(972) 997-8355
janeb -at- answersoft -dot- com
On Tuesday, January 27, 1998 2:36 PM, Roger Peterson
[SMTP:wy491 -at- VICTORIA -dot- TC -dot- CA] wrote:
> Fellow Writers:
>
> You can file this one under misc or you can make it my "off-topic"
> post for the month, but here goes:
>
> If you did not have all the latest computer technology and all that
> wonderful GUI "eye candy" would you still be drawn to technical
> writing. How interesting would it be if you used pencil,
> notepad, and an electric typewriter? Can you separate the
> technology from the task?
