Re: "frosty" weather and "moving targets"

[Nancy Hayes <nancyh -at- PMAFIRE -dot- INEL -dot- GOV>]

In article <199602291410 -dot- AA13726 -at- gomez -dot- fs -dot- com -dot- au>,
Stuart Burnfield  <slb -at- fs -dot- com -dot- au> wrote:

>been awfully *frosty* on techwr-l this week.

I think I've gone numb.  I haven't noticed it.

>ObTechWr: isn't the recent 'Documenting a moving target' thread
>merely the flip-side of the old 'How can we get involved from the
>start of the project' thread?

I don't think so.  The getting involved early thread involves how we as
writers and editors can become involved in the research-development
phase.  The "moving target" thread is more about how to write reasonable,
-technically accurate- information on something that isn't even created
yet.  It's like saying the "How to Study" class and the
"Understanding Science Fiction" class at your local university cover the
same material.  YMMV.

RE:  Getting involved early.

I still think the best way is to get management support, get some friends
on the inside, and just brazen your way into the inner circle.  It's
worked for me over the last ten years.

RE:  moving targets

Concentrate on what won't change first.  Write the bare outline of what
will change and flag it somehow so that you can find it fast when you do
get the current information.  Realize you can't control it, therefore it
isn't worth stressing yourself into ulcers over.  (I know, easier said
than done.)

Nancy Lynn Hayes (nancyh -at- pmafire -dot- inel -dot- gov)                Carpe Diem
                                                         Seize the Day!