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---"Caroline Briggs (Pachaud) (Exchange)"
<carolinp -at- EXCHANGE -dot- MICROSOFT -dot- COM> wrote:
>
> when someone tells me they're really technical, what they're really
> saying is that they get widgets but not words. Sorry, that's not good
> enough. I spend too much time addressing fundamental writing issues
> with folks who are convinced that their technical expertise absolves
> them of any need to actually put one thought in front of the other in
> any kind of coherent order. May I respectfully suggest that it
> doesn't matter what you know or don't know if you don't have a clue
> as to how to tell me what you know? Or why I should care?
>
In the years I have been doing this job (since the late 50's), I have
met a lot of 'technial' writers who are not writers. I have also met
a lot of writers who cannot write. So your generalization is not
totally valid. While I have a background in electronics, I have also
documented software and even policies and procedures for one company.
Yet I see the place for the non-technical writer.
One caviat. I believe the writer with the special skills should get
more than the 'writer' writer. However, that probably won't happen.
Cam Whetstone
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