Re: New TECHWR-L Poll Question

[Christine -dot- Anameier -at- seagate -dot- com]

Janice Gelb wrote:
>Perhaps some writers consider that the work
>they are doing is not related so much to the
>particular technology as to trying to explain
>it so that the user can understand it. The
>work is the writing itself, not the technology
>being documented.

Yes! Exactly. I enjoy my work and have a strong and enduring interest in
certain aspects of it (for instance, usability and UI design; and written
and visual communication). But am I interested in the subject matter I
document? Not especially. Last year I documented application X at company
A. This year it's application Y at company B. Next year or even next month
<sigh> it may be application Z at company C. Different applications,
different industries. No way is application Y ever going to be a hobby for
me.

But I care very much about making users' jobs easier. I take a craftsman's
pride in the communication that I do. (I'd say "writing," but these days
it's getting more and more visually oriented. It's not just text.)

At 5:00 or so, I go home and cook, sing, garden, read, pet the cat, surf
the net, watch old re-runs of the Simpsons. :)  As much as I like writing
documentation, I'm not inclined to do it for fun in my spare time. Bruce, I
don't think it's necessarily unhealthy to divide your work life from your
personal life. In fact, I like the variety.

Christine


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