[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
[Author Index (this month)][Thread Index (this month)][Top of Archive]

Re: What Are Writing Skills?

Subject: Re: What Are Writing Skills?
From: Bill Lawrence <lawrence -at- mayaviz -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 09:16:16 -0500


Tony spouted:

"I was told that the "meat" of writing skills is
structured writing skills. But try researching to
find the specific, concrete techniques and steps
involved in structured writing - they don't exist! Structured writing is "blue smoke and mirrors".

I guess I'll have to disagree here, at least in our environment. It used to be that simply being a good writer would allow one to succeed in any of the writing fields, but times have changed. If one is working in a single-source environment, writing skills are only part of what's required. There's also the ability to stop writing linear documents and start thinking of reusable document modules, or "document objects." Teaching people object-oriented writing isn't easy, and having great writing skills doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to do it. Also, structured writing becomes even more important, and even extends to creating "design patterns" for various types of "topics." Information Mapping is a very generalized example of this. We have our own design patterns based on our own needs, and these are encoded in XML templates for each documentation object type.

Bill








^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo:
http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Your Ad Here! Have a product or service you'd like to get some attention for? Use this space to get the word out! Contact lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com for more details.

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


References:
RE: What Are Writing Skills?: From: Oja, W. Kelly

Previous by Author: Re: Looking for totally subjective opinions on HATs
Next by Author: Re: I'm getting calls every day
Previous by Thread: RE: What Are Writing Skills?
Next by Thread: RE: What Are Writing Skills?

[Top of Archive] | [Author Index (this month)] | [Thread Index (this month)]

What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:

Sponsored Ads