Tech writing & incompetence (very long) -Reply

[Lisa Comeau <COMEAUL -at- CSA -dot- CA>]

ANDREW:  I think there is a fundamental difference in the act of writing words, which is what a general writer does and communicating, which is what a technical writer must do.

ME: In theory, I think you may have a point, but as someone who writes music, poetry, lyrics, short stories, prose, and the occasional novel or screenplay, I like to think that I communicate in two ways; one as an artist communicating ideas to stimulate the imagination, and the other as a technical writer communicating essential information to stimulate the workflow process.

ANDREW: There are numerous entry-level positions in technical writing.  This is good because it allows people who like technology and like writing to get into companies and work their way up into decent paying jobs. This is bad in the sense that a lot of dreck wander into the profession and mask their incompetence for years.

ME: Agreed, but there is dreck everywhere. The difference being that dreck tech writers can actually cause alot of harm by being bad at what they do simply because they're new, whereas a dreck pilot, for example, doesn't usually get to ever fly a plane for a major airline.

ANDREW: Most people agreed that being a technical writer and not liking technology or communicating technical details was pretty awful.

 ME: Once again, I think we are all giving and receiving criticisms for a field that is so diverse as to be several fields integrated. I am a technical writer who happens to love technology and writing about it, but what about those technical writers who aren't writing about software or hardware, or machinery? What about technical writers who  write procedures for document control? I think we need some perspective here, but I don't disagree with Andrew's point.

ANDREW: How many times have you written a document and the people who were supposed to read it never read a single page? ... Feedback is a vital part of growth and maturity.  Without accurate, fair, and regular feedback people become closed-minded and stubborn.

ME: True, but you also have to place some of the blame on those people who do not seek out or welcome feedback. I drag my supervisor out for coffee at least one half hour a week to discuss what I'm working on and how he feels it could be improved. Not only does it give me a chance to wind down and keep perspective, it gives me the feedback I need to make sure that what I'm doing is appropriate and useful, aznd that I'm not just working on things that make me *feel* important, I'm doing things that *are*
important.

ANDREW: Writing is inherently a detail oriented task.  ...  communicating, especially really complex technology, is a very intense mental activity.

ME: Absolutely true, but we, as writers, need tio recognize this before getting into the field. Too many people get in over their heads, and never admit it for fear of being considered incompetent or "weak", which, of course, happens anyway because they can't handle the workload (not because they're all dolts, but because they lack knowledge about what this type of work entails, which is why I think this list is so helpful for "wannabe tech writers")

ANDREW: To many people with no skills and no ambition are allowed to entry the field because companies are desperate to plug holes in their headcount.

ME: Too many inexperienced people are being promoted or transferred within companies because they have knowledge about policies instead of having an experienced person come in from outside. This internal hiring thing is getting out of hand.

ANDREW: Writers need to be expected to turn over good material on-time.  Lazy, ineffectual writers need to be weeded out.

ME:This is a management/hr decision, not ours to make unless we *are* management. All we can do is reccommend, and hope we don't look jealous or bitter.

ANDREW: Rather then looking at your work as an end in an of itself,
look at it as a product that serves others.

ME:Isn't this how *all* industries would work in an ideal world?

Please don't think I am trying to slam you here, Andrew, I agree on the points made in this post, I just think we need to add to it. There are incompetent people in every field, and the world would be a better place without 'em, but I think that realistically, all we can do is bring out awareness, and watch that our own work is up to snuff.

And I don't mean that we should think we're doing ok just because *we* like our work. Ask for feedback from others. Look for CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms. Seek out flaws in your own work. Adopt new ideas. Listen to others in the industry, and most of all, listen to your audience. After all, that's why we're doing what we're doing. People aren't going to buy a useless product just because it looks good (unless it's a Spoce Girls poster...I don't understand humankind sometimes...) so we need to give it some
CONTENT.

Just my $200 worth. Stay cool. Keep warm... whatever...

Lisa Comeau
IS Super-User/Trainer
Certification and Testing Division
Canadian Standards Association
Rexdale, ON
comeaul -at- csa -dot- ca