RE: The writer's disease (was: A step up, a step down)

["Dan Hall" <dhall -at- san-carlos -dot- rms -dot- slb -dot- com>]

I agree with Sandy.

I too am a compulsive "puzzler" - for want of a better word. I am
always intrigued by the new and different - not just because it's
new, but because I enjoy figuring out what makes things tick. I want
to know what's behind the interface, as well as how it "seems to
work" to the user.

I learned about HTML not because I needed it for work, but because I
encountered it and wanted to know more. It did lead (eventually) to 
work opportunities, but I didn't know that it would at the time. The
same is true for most of what I know :) Of course, I might never have
had the chance to work with RF networks if I hadn't taken my current
job, so I might never have learned much about them. But if I'd heard
of them, I'd have wanted to know more.

My guess is that this is a quality I picked up from my father - a man
who knows at least _something_ about everything, and who was once
soundly thrashed as a child for taking apart his father's antique
pocket watch - which was never quite right again. He encouraged me to
learn all I could about everything I encountered - for which I am
very thankful.

Dan 

Dan Hall
Sr. Technical Writer
SchlumbergerSema RTEMS

-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-72045 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-72045 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com]On Behalf Of Sandy
Harris
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2001 12:41 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: The writer's disease (was: A step up, a step down)


Kirby_Sarah wrote:

> I'm curious, why are you a compulsive writer.  Is it to express yourself
> clearly, as a release valve on an over active mind or someting else Sean?
> (anyone else want to jump in here, please feel free.)

Methinks there are a range of personality types that can function well as
tech writers, and some people do well at it despite not having built-in
biases that fit the task.

I'm closer to a compulsive explorer/explainer. I enjoy figuring things out
and trying to explain complex things clearly. This job lets me do both.
Part of the payoff for explaining is that it often lets me clarify things
in my own head.

In terms of the Meyers-Briggs personality classification (see archives for
a previous thread with much detail and discussion), I'm about as far out
on the P end of the J-P scale as one can get. Oversimplifying, J's tend
to explore only until they have enough data to make a decision, make the
decision and move on to the next problem. P's tend to gather data until
they fully understand the problem, avoiding any decision until then. This
is both a strength and a weakness.

The hard parts, of course, are getting things that don't come naturally
right -- in my case remembering to actually do things, not just figure
them out -- and making sure your writing fits the audience's needs, not
just your biases -- in my case, dealing with the practical stuff many of
them are looking for, not just the intriguing theory

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