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Subject:Re: A wee story for you... From:Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Sun, 17 Jun 2001 18:30:46 -0700
Mark Levinson wrote:
> But if that was in the story, I missed it.
[snip]
> Or to elaborate, "Because the things we manage are so much
> more important than technical writing, we therefore can make
> better decisions about anything, including technical writing,
> than a technical writer can."
How do you figure? The writer interrupted an important meeting with an
issue that was relevant only to him. From the way that the story is
told, I get the impression that he was out of his depth, and, instead of
listening and maybe picking up some information, he was more concerned
about trying to take control of the discussion.
At the very least, his timing was bad. The meeting was deciding what he
would write about. He should have been gathering information at that
stage, not worrying so much about how he would present it.
I don't see anything in the story that suggests that anyone thought they
could make decisions about technical writing. Instead (as Andrew
suggests in his moral), they were focusing on their own affairs and
probably assuming that the writer would focus on his.
--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
"In the bathroom mirror they try that Joan of Arc look again
Two parts Ingrid Berman to one part Shirley MacLaine
The wounds of time kill you but the surgeon's knife only stings
Jerusalem on the jukebox, little angels beat your wings."
-Richard Thompson, "Jerusalem on the Jukebox"
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