Re: Leggo My Eggo

[benadam -at- cyberdude -dot- com]

Andrew,

I won't blast you and call you a grumpy old man. I just think you've led a charmed life if you can say what you do.

In principle, I'd agree with most of what you say, but I've had the experience of being led into a job for which the managers were all smiles and graces until I had my butt on the chair in front of the computer, at which point Mr. Hyde came out to greet me in all his ghoulish splendor.

What I did was what you said: I found another job and left. Suddenly Mr. Hyde vanished, Dr. Jekyll came out, and I heard the most contrite elocutions imaginable. Not that it helped; I already knew the truth.

It's one thing for this to happen to a veteran writer with a successful track record; such a writer would shrug it off and go forward. However, a novice writer or a writer who was less confident might not be so resilient. To this person, your words might sound extremely caustic, even though you might have intended to write humorously in your own inimitable style.

I'm writing only for those writers who don't yet feel so secure that they can just move on. Sometimes mistakes happen, and a good writer shouldn't give up because the initial impressions were false.

At the same time, I also know that some persons who can't take the heat should get out of the kitchen. If this sort of scenario is too unbearable and seems to repeat itself too long, maybe it is wise to reconsider lines of work, just for the sake of sanity. While I very much enjoy my work as a technical writer, I'm the first to admit that it's not for everybody.

- Maury

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