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Re: Drafts -- some people not clear on the concept...
Subject:Re: Drafts -- some people not clear on the concept... From:Tuples -at- aol -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Sun, 22 Sep 2002 13:28:55 EDT
In a message dated 9/22/02 10:15:54 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
doc -at- vertext -dot- org writes:
> Such creativity has its place in tech writing. Entry-level users may need to
> be seduced into using the software, for example. In general, however, my
> writers add that kind of material after the second draft when all the
> technical issues are documented and clear.
That is the job of marketing. It is not your job to seduce anyone into using
the software. As for being cute, clever and creative, I do not think cute and
clever has much of a place in most technical documentation. Perhaps a little
humor is OK, but NOT if it is distracting. Your job is to see that the user
has a document that explains how the software is used.
>To me, a rough draft is an indication of the
>discipline that the writer has used to analyze the software. It shows me
>that they understand the concept and have been able to apply their skills to
>explain it to themselves. The less coherent the rough draft, the more likely
>it is that they are struggling. But as I said, we use a very structured
>approach, YMMV.
It is a rough draft, for God's sake. You can't always tell how he completed
doc will turn out based upon just a draft. Give me a break.
Bob
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