TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Anybody who's gone to open mic night at the spoken word café or thumbed through a lesser literary mag will know that there is AT LEAST as much tremendously awful poetry as there is bad tech writing.
Yes, being able to apply some creative problem-solving skills will improve your output, but knowing how to craft oblique metaphors and pretty wordscapes? Can't see that being useful in a medium where the key is to communicate simply and directly.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=tiburoninc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=tiburoninc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Combs, Richard
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 1:56 PM
To: Porrello, Leonard; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: techwriting style vs press release
Porrello, Leonard wrote:
> And once again American anti-intellectualism rears its ugly head. The
> poet is one who has mastered the most difficult aspects of language.
> Going back to Plato, most if not all of the greatest prose writers in
> the western intellectual tradition were also poets.
>
> Why would anyone want to keep students away, for any amount of time,
> from the best examples of great writing that our culture has to offer?
> If everyone who wanted to write were trained by a poet, the airwaves
> and internet wouldn't be so full of nonsense. Technical documents
> wouldn't be so poorly written. The problem with commercial writing
> isn't that writers can't master story telling or economy or who, what,
> where, when, why, and how. It is that they have no poetic sense.
I've encountered quite a bit of bad technical documentation over the years. In no case have I ever thought that the problem was lack of poetic sense, imagery, emotions, or self-expression. :-)
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
------
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help. Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need.
Try Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help. Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need.
Try Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
