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Subject:RE: Questions about the Technical Writing field From:"Bill Swallow" <wswallow -at- nycap -dot- rr -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 12 Sep 2002 02:01:57 -0400
::: 1. How/why did you become a professional writer?
Structural analysis of trusses using varied connections to various
vertical support structures DID NOT like me very much. *LOL* I went to
college to study architorture and fell back on my strengths as a writer
after my third semester.
::: 2. What is your job title? job description?
Technical Communicator. My job is to make stuff understandable.
::: 3. What percentage of your time is spent writing, editing,
::: or presenting?
About 15% to each. The other 55% is made up of meetings, planning,
designing, and thinking.
::: 4. What types of writing, editing, and presenting do you do?
Whatever's needed. Soup to nuts.
::: 5. Who are your audiences and what are their needs?
I don't want to make this a 1000+ page e-mail. ;)
::: 6. What things do your audiences expect from your documents or
::: presentations?
Clear, concise, helpful info.
::: 7. What is your biggest writing-related challenge on the job?
Gathering the right info in a timely manner. That's the biggest part of
the job, and is almost always harder than it seems.
::: 8. What about deadlines? How do they influence the way
::: your write on the job?
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
*lol* Deadlines are planned and agreed to. They aren't just handed to me
(usually, anymore). I do my best to provide the best deliverable in the
time agreed upon, and having agreements with those I need to interact
with helps.
::: 9. What standard and predictable processes (writing techniques,
::: organizational templates, heuristics for brainstorming,
::: etc.), if any, do you
::: employ in profession-related writing?
I keep a 20-round Nerf machine gun in my office.
::: 10. What are the frustrations/rewards of your work?
Yes.
::: 11. What advice do you have for students?
Flush the lines nightly and keep ice on the cold plate.
B I L L S W A L L O W
Information Design & Development Professional
tel/fax: 518.371.1867
wswallow -at- nycap -dot- rr -dot- com
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