Re: Chattiness in manuals

Subject: Re: Chattiness in manuals
From: "John Cook" <john -dot- cook -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: "Laura Lemay" <lemay-lists1 -at- lauralemay -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 14:10:59 -0500

On 10/18/06, Laura Lemay <lemay-lists1 -at- lauralemay -dot- com> wrote:

It took me a long time to come to grips with this; I felt
stifled in my work when I was younger ("but it's so BORING!") This
is why I started writing computer books. Now that I'm older I'm OK
with it. I've found plenty of subtle creativity and style even in
less conversational tech writing -- and I still have writing on the
side when I'm feeling oppressed as a writer.

Laura

Excellent point. I am not paid to inject my personality into my
technical writing. In contrast, my personality comes out in spades in
my space opera e-zine at http://raygunrevival.com

Perhaps that's the problem - writers who are aching to write in a more
chatty or conversational style in their technical writing may just be
sublimating their natural creative urges.

By giving myself a venue for writing with as much vigor and abandon
and creativity in my free time, I am more satisfied with the more
rigorous, matter-of-fact writing that techncial writing typically
requires to be appropriate for the end-user audience. I have a
tremedous amount of control and responsibility as a magazine founder,
editor, and serial fiction author in my off-hours. An unintended--but
completely delightful--side effect is that I completely content to be
a role player in my career as a technical writer.

Instead of trying to shoehorn one's personality into tech writing,
perhaps the solution is to exercise one's creative impulses in outside
activities. With traditional dead-tree publications making way for a
new wave of digital publishing, there hasn't been a better time to
play with some off-hours creative writing.

--
John Cook
Technical Writer / Help Author
john dot cook at gmail dot com
cook -at- raygunrevival -dot- com
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References:
RE: Chattiness in manuals: From: SaraTörök
Re: Chattiness in manuals: From: David Farbey
Re: Chattiness in manuals: From: Al Geist
Re: Chattiness in manuals: From: Laura Lemay

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