Writing: better or worse after years on the job?

["Hart, Rowena" <Hart -at- SelkirkFinancial -dot- com>]

Colleagues,

While reviewing some help topics that I 
wrote recently, I started to ponder whether
my writing has improved or declined after a
few years working as a technical writer.

I would say that my ability to describe
things has improved, primarily because I
am more skilled at communicating context
(you are here) and logic (if-then-else).
However, I have a sense that my ability to
write brief sentences has suffered. (I come
to tech writing from a journalism background,
where brief is best.) My grammar has probably
slipped, too.

What about you? Has your writing ability
improved or declined since you've become a
professional technical writer? What are some
of the forces (in the business environment)
that have positively or adversely affected
your writing ability? What steps do you take
to "stay sharp"? Does writing for a technical
audience lead to poor writing, or does it
actually demand better and clearer writing?
Have you ever been horribly embarrassed to
read something you wrote years ago? Does your
writing benefit because you work in a large
documentation group (with opportunities for
mentoring and editing)? ....
 
Cheers,

Rowena

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