Re: Technical Writing as Storytelling (?)

["Huber, Mike" <mrhuber -at- SOFTWARE -dot- ROCKWELL -dot- COM>]

Justin
...
> Later, I realised that a lot of what we do in technical
> writing is just
> that: storytelling. We may frame and present it in different terms,
> (minimalist user guides, context-sensitive online help, etc.)
> but the focus
> is in engaging our reader / viewer / audience, having them resolve a
> particular conflict and move forward towards a conclusion.

The "story" buzzword is hot in marketing/management lately. And it
gets used as a meaningless buzzword quite a bit. "The XYZ Story"
(where XYZ is some product) tends to be a completely non-narrative
PowerPoint (tm) slide with a diagonal line from the lower left to the
upper right and a bunch of acronyms that mean nothing outside the
company.

Since I consider story (including myth) to be the central thing
that makes people people, the second cause of civilization (after beer),
the driving force behind art, culture, faith, and personal development,
the abuse of the term bugs me.

When I hear the word "story", I look for a protagonist, a conflict, and
motion toward resolution.

So let's look at a procedure:

Protagonist? The person doing the procedure. Probably the reader. Good!
Making the reader identify with the protagonist is a good thing.

Conflict? The protagonist seeks to accomplish the goal of the procedure.

Motion toward resolution? Well, if the procedure is complete, the hero
has attained victory. Maybe not a heroic victory, but the conflict is
resolved. In technical writing, a happy (if minor) ending is strongly
recommended.

So, yeah, at least some tech writing is story. Looking at something
that you are doing in a new way is often a good thing. Thanks, Justin!

---
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