"It Ain't Literature, Y'know"

[Friedlander_Tori <torif -at- KSL -dot- CO -dot- IL>]

     Before I ask my question, I want to say that I am new to this list and
     I'm not at all sure that this is the proper forum.  If I am in error,
     please accept my apology in advance and I withdraw the question.  If I
     am correct, however, I would genuinely like to hear from other tech
     writers who have thought about the same issue.

     Here goes.

     In recent months, I accepted a job in hardware documentation.  Prior
     to this, I wrote mainly software documentation for end-users.  In that
     life, I tried to write simply.  I wanted to be easily understood by
     people who might not be all that familiar with main frame computer
     systems.

     Now, I am writing for maintenance people who, presumably, have a
     larger knowledge base to draw upon.  THe needs are different.  The way
     the material is presented is different.

     My problem is this:  yesterday, I pointed out to a co-worker that I
     thought the sentence structure he was using in a particular procedure
     was incorrect.  To this point, we have had a give and take
     relationship where both of us felt comfortable going over problems we
     saw in the other's work.

     This time, he was somewhat angry.  He said, "we ain't writing
     literature, you know."  He said that he had given the matter a great
     deal of thought and decided that this was the best way to handle the
     situation.  He said that if he wrote,

                        Pound the nail into the wall with a hammer.

     someone might use their head to pound the nail with rather than read
     to the end of the sentence.  Instead, he prefers to write:

                        Using a hammer, pound the nail into the wall.
                        or
                        Using columnar spacers, place the ....

     Whether his sentence structure is correct or not, is one issue.  For
     me, the more important point was his statement, "this ain't
     literature, you know."  Its not the first time he's said it either.

     Ok, Ok, I know that what we are writing won't even be read one time
     all the way through by anyone.  Its reference material.  Its a way of
     getting a job done.  It won't last ten years or even two before its
     gone.

     But for me, as the writer, I believe that I should do the best job I
     can.  I strive for clean, clear writing.  I believe that good writing
     is invisible and that bad writing (be it redundancies, bad grammar,
     etc.) detracts.  I have watched people, with no experience as writers
     or editors, try to read a piece of bad writing and fail to come up
     with the essence.  They get too caught up in noticing the mistakes.

     My question is this, to anyone who cares to answer, either privately
     or to the list in general, is he right?  Am I trying to turn technical
     writing into literature when I demand that the writing not become
     slipshod?  What say you?  I would genuinely like to hear.

     Regards,

     Tori

     ----------------------------------------------------
     Tori Friedlander
     torif -at- ksl -dot- co -dot- il

     Famous Last Words:  "640K should be enough for anybody."
     -----------------------------------------------------

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