tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post7390800874857765993..comments2024-03-27T23:59:01.850-07:00Comments on Writing About Writing (And Occasionally Some Writing): Writing for Your Life (Marcy Kirkton)Chris Brecheenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07819138776404280633noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-62160880471414521732016-11-10T18:20:00.738-08:002016-11-10T18:20:00.738-08:00TY....kind of you to take the time to respond
TY....kind of you to take the time to respond<br /><br />Marcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03342229424980366242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-18278645837800665412016-11-10T18:19:30.732-08:002016-11-10T18:19:30.732-08:00Yes, here's a trick to try. Deliberate put in...Yes, here's a trick to try. Deliberate put in some real obvious editing mistakes. It MIGHT give them something to correct. lolMarcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03342229424980366242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-86661883988414926312016-11-08T13:38:32.058-08:002016-11-08T13:38:32.058-08:00Oh my gosh, your experiences writing HR docs mirro...Oh my gosh, your experiences writing HR docs mirror my own when I accept software tech doc contracts. I loathe the committee, which always seems to be made up of people who took English classes in college so they know how to write. I once snarked that since I took Java, C++, and JavaScript classes, I know how to code. They didn't get it. They stumbled over themselves, trying to explain that those classes give a language foundation, but writing software for actual people is much more complex. Yeah, I know. <br /><br />I consider tech writing to be my pay-the-bills writing, and so I usually have a few contracts or a full time job. But lately I've been looking at all my other writing and re-thinking my career. I write pretty much anything as long as the check clears. And frankly, writing smut for a certain publisher pays the same as writing API documentation with my own code samples. The added bonus is that I don't care what the publisher does with my work after I submit it. What I submit to the publisher is done on my own terms. That is, the quality is at a level that I'm proud of. What they do with it afterwards is irrelevant. My real name isn't attached to it. <br /><br />On the other hand, I'm getting burned out on tech writing because the committee so often insists on poor quality work, thinking that they're improving it. I've got a page in tutorial right now that has more bold text than unstyled text. The committee is a team of subject matter experts -- they know the software. They think they know the documentation. And so they think that it's important to bold face everything that a customer has ever asked a question about. It's impossible to know what's actually important on that page now. And my real name is attached to it. Sigh.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06575902449982773635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-39869422192735677782016-11-08T06:58:02.049-08:002016-11-08T06:58:02.049-08:00This is an interesting piece, I love to see how ot...This is an interesting piece, I love to see how others tackle the challenge of writing. Practical lessons are always the best path to learning. Thank you.Peter B. Gibletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11096760474504313646noreply@blogger.com