Re: HELP

[Pat Madea <madea -at- MMSI -dot- COM>]

Elna Tymes writes of one particular way of getting source material
(which I have used) but fails to mention on of its hidden dangers <g>  :

   >There is also another way to get source material. I call it "writing by
   >provocation."  This is sometimes what you have to resort to when your
   >source information is incomplete or inaccurate, and you can't get what
   >you need any other way.  In that case, I write a draft with
   >clearly-labeled missing or inaccurate pieces, and indicate that I need
   >help filling the holes or fixing the inaccuracies.  Normally I get back a
   >review copy with a satisfactory amount of red ink showing me the error of
   >my ways - and including the missing or accurate information. 's OK - I'll
   >take it any way I can get it.

The hidden danger is missing a small hole or leaving some verbiage in
a large document that I used merely as a textual placeholder.  This
method for me has come close to producing some embarrassing passages
in my documents.  In one document, I just typed "yabba dabba doo for
now...."  and other nonsense as a placeholder for information that
needed to be provided to me by a subject matter expert (SME).  It was
overlooked until just before press time when it was brought to my
attention.  Whoops!

"Writing by provocation" does work, but you gotta watch those holes and
placeholders..... especially in large documents  < g >


madea // madea -at- mmsi -dot- com