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Re: Recommended software for breaking into technical writing
Subject:Re: Recommended software for breaking into technical writing From:Nancy McDonald <mcdonan1 -at- NATIONWIDE -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 13 Aug 1999 11:32:22 -0400
Seems to me part of this issue is based on the conceptual differences
between
journalistic writing and technical writing, and how you relate
emotionally/spiritually, etc., to those conceptual differences. If you are
excited by unfolding events of a sociological nature, then journalism
excites
you. This satisfies lots of creative urges, people-people contact,
descriptive
language, etc. Journalistic writing allows for description, narration, and
sometimes argumentation.
If you have an urge for intellectual challenges such as trying to figure out
how
things work, then tech writing can be fun and interesting. If you have a
process mind, then you are excited writing procedures, training manuals,
user
guides, etc. You're still dealing with facts, but the facts are
technological
things and logical events rather than social, political, economic events.
Technical writing allows for 'how to', for description, for explanation, and
sometimes, if it's proposals, argumentation.
As William James said, years ago, when trying to solve yet again some
ambiguities, "it all depends." on what you mean by.... and the beat goes
on...
