RE: Drafts -- some people not clear on the concept...

["Bill Swallow" <wswallow -at- nycap -dot- rr -dot- com>]

::: There must be some personality type (or types) on the 
::: Myers-Briggs schema 
::: that simply cannot grasp, cannot appreciate that some 
::: things (documents, 
::: songs, rough cuts of films) come in rough, provisional 
::: form, and are simply 
::: preliminary expressions of initial stream-of-consciousness 
::: creativity.  ...  These people, with these personality 
::: types, should be banned from all management positions.  Or, 
::: at the very 
::: least, they should be barred by law from looking at 
::: anything until it's in at least its third draft.

I'll agree that people should understand the difference between draft
and release copy, but I disagree with what you have stated above.
Technical writing (IMO) is not a stream of consciousness endeavor; there
should very little room for creative expressions as far as content is
concerned. Managers who cite problems with this type of "technical
writing" should be encouraged to do so and should be applauded. As a
technical writer, I do not work to entertain. I work to provide need to
know info to those who need to know. My definition of a draft is a
document that contains the required technical/procedural data but has
not been proofed by SMEs/QA for accuracy.

I can agree that some managers need to learn how to approach conflict
with tact (as do most people). I can agree that the creation of a draft
is a "necessary evil". But, and again this is IMO, the definition of
draft in technical writing is pretty narrow; either the content is there
or it isn't, and it's either accurate or it isn't. And, it's either
factual or it's not technical writing. 

Given all this, I'd throw a red flag if I saw a "draft" of a technical
document displaying what appears to be "preliminary expressions of
initial stream-of-consciousness creativity" regardless fo rank/position.
Either it's a finished document, or it's a solid draft, or it's an
outline, or it's not technical writing. (Hmmm, that should keep the list
server warm for quite some time. *lol*)

:)

B I L L   S W A L L O W
Information Design & Development Professional
tel/fax: 518.371.1867
wswallow -at- nycap -dot- rr -dot- com




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