Re: Drafts -- some people not clear on the concept...

Subject: Re: Drafts -- some people not clear on the concept...
From: "Doc" <doc -at- vertext -dot- org>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2002 12:15:07 -0400


Hmmmm ...

That was intended as irony not sympathy.

But you bring up an interesting point. Please note that the following is a
response to your message and not to the original scenario. Personally, I
don't read a rough draft unless it is handed to me.

It WILL be handed to me and when it is, I will not be looking for spelling
and simple errors. If they jump out at me I'll mark them for the convenience
of the writer.

What I DO look for is sloppy thinking. Unlike some other TW orgs, the way we
write is extremely structured and focused and does not allow for
stream-of-consciousness creativity.

Such creativity has its place in tech writing. Entry-level users may need to
be seduced into using the software, for example. In general, however, my
writers add that kind of material after the second draft when all the
technical issues are documented and clear.

Perhaps it is a problem of nomenclature. I would not expect to look at a
writer's notes, but if the document is considered even a rough draft, I have
to assume that some work has gone into structuring and editing the document
into the proper form. To me, a rough draft is an indication of the
discipline that the writer has used to analyze the software. It shows me
that they understand the concept and have been able to apply their skills to
explain it to themselves. The less coherent the rough draft, the more likely
it is that they are struggling. But as I said, we use a very structured
approach, YMMV.

Not to burst your Meyer-Briggs bubble, but far from being anal-retentive, my
profile is ENTP. My discipline in editing and my standards for documents
developed in reaction to the realization that the reputation of my group
depended on the quality of any document we produced.

-Doc


"Steven Oppenheimer" <writer -at- writemaster -dot- com> wrote in message
news:169556 -at- techwr-l -dot- -dot- -dot-
>
> All I want to say, in brief reply to the comments below, is that I have
> repeatedly found that many people just don't get the concept of a
> draft. It irritates the hell out of me, and unlike "Doc", the second
> poster below, I am not sympathetic to the fact that these anal-retentive
> citizens may have nothing better to do with their weekends than nit-pick
> rough drafts.
>
> There must be some personality type (or types) on the Myers-Briggs schema
> that simply cannot grasp, cannot appreciate that some things (documents,
> songs, rough cuts of films) come in rough, provisional form, and are
simply
> preliminary expressions of initial stream-of-consciousness
> creativity. These same people also don't seem to grasp that flaws can be
> easily, quickly fixed with simple editing ("Ooh, aah, look it's a WORD
> PROCESSOR with CUT and PASTE and DELETE and INSERT!" "A what? What
> millenium are we living in?...."). These people, with these personality
> types, should be banned from all management positions. Or, at the very
> least, they should be barred by law from looking at anything until it's in
> at least its third draft.
>
> Steve Oppenheimer
> Marketing and Technical Writing
> writer -at- writemaster -dot- com
> www.writemaster.com
>
> >"Anonymous" <anonfwd -at- raycomm -dot- com> wrote in message
news:167486 -at- techwr-l -dot- -dot- -dot-
> > > Background: I ask because over the holiday weekend, my boss pulled a
rough
> > > draft from my cube that I had printed on Friday (for my own review
when I
> > > returned on Wednesday), and went through it. Of course there were many
> > > errors. I was shocked to walk in this morning and be confronted about
> > > this. Moreover, this individual began to question my editing skills,
and
> > > said that my rough draft was too 'rough'. We were not pressed for a
> > > deadline, and I cannot help but feel set up.
> >
> >It is always important to widen your focus and look at the people
involved.
> >It is a holiday weekend. Gaiety and laughter are abounding. But in a
small
> >dark corner of the garden sits a lonely person. No one is dancing for
them.
> >No one refills their plate with potato salad and short ribs.
> >Revolted by the effervescence and joy, in which they cannot share, from
> >which they have been thoughtlessly and callously excluded, they quietly
make
> >their way back to the only place they feel at home ... the office.
> >... and they find a gift, something to keep their mind off their pitiful,
> >insulated existence, a draft. Even better it is a rough draft, laden with
> >errors and other flaws.
> >Oh joy! I can be of value! They cry. I shall edit and critique this work
so
> >stringently that it will be obvious to all that my life is worthwhile.
>
>
>



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