Re: What makes a technical writer

[Martha J Davidson <editrix -at- SLIP -dot- NET>]

At 10:40 AM 4/27/99 -0700, John Posada wrote:
>
>Within that *one* attribute (pushing all the buttons)
>was the characteristic of:
>- curiosity
>- fearlessness (I come across even "experienced" tech
>writers that have never pushed the little paintbrush
>button on the MS Word buttonbar because they were
>afraid they were going to screw something up.)

Actually, I *am* one of those experienced (no quotes necessary) tech
writers who has a lingering degree of technophobia that I use to my
advantage.  Based on that, if I had to describe one attribute a good tech
writer can use, I'd say Emphathy--with an audience who may have just as
much fear of their own.

The fact that I often feel twinges of "oh no, what will it break if I try
that?" as I work sensitizes me to those members of my audience who may feel
the same, and I can modify my writing to address those concerns.  As I
document each aspect, I ask the developers enough questions to feel safe to
explore and discover the basics of the software.

Once I understand what's going on in the software, I can describe it
clearly enough to create a context for people learning it, so that they
will have the background to make informed guesses as they work.

martha


--
Martha Jane {Kolman | Davidson}
mailto:editrix -at- slip -dot- net

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
 If I am only for myself, what am I?
 If not now, when?"
        --Hillel, "Mishna, Sayings of the Fathers 1:13"


 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=