Re: Blue Collar Tech Writers

[Mike Stockman <stockman -at- jagunet -dot- com>]

On 3/10/00 12:42 PM, Anthony Markatos (tonymar -at- hotmail -dot- com) wrote:

>Don't plan writing - just do it you lazy #$ -at- *$&!  Faster, faster, faster!
>
>- Such summarizes the opinion of a very frequent commentator to this 
>listserv.  Is this what TW is all about?

Of course not. The point I took from the recent threads was that, for 
contractors in particular and any case in general where the 
client/employer wants it done quickly and efficiently, there's just no 
time for discussing theory, developing style guides, working up metrics, 
and other academic niceties. If the job calls for cranking something out, 
only a soon-to-be-unemployed tech writer tries to stop cranking to 
discuss whether to use "can" or "may."

If you were just working to please yourself, you could sit at home and 
write documentation for any subject you wanted. Once you get an employer 
or client, however, you work to please the boss, or you lose the job. You 
can tell the boss what you recommend, or what you think should happen, 
and what the costs/benefits of the different options are, but ultimately 
you can't just decide to set up long-term tasks when you've been asked to 
complete a short-term, quick-and-dirty project.

I didn't hear anyone in that discussion say that there's never time or 
use for planning, or style guides, or lengthy project planning 
spreadsheets that take several walls just to display. I only heard that 
you can't waste time on stuff you want when the stuff your client/company 
needs isn't getting done. (Finally, If you don't like quick-and-dirty 
projects, don't accept them...)

Hope this clears things up, Tony...

----->Mike

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