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Subject:Re: Not Wanted--Technical Writers From:Hulda Dent <hulda -at- WW-WEB -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 16 Dec 1997 11:13:14 -0700
Beth Agnew writes:
> Yeah, let's see those poets tackle an API manual or explain client/server
> computing in 25 words or less. :-)
Being both a poet and a technical writer (10 years at TW) I can tell you
this...They ain't the same animal. As I'm sure many of you out there who
are involved in various forms of writing will agree, it is very hard to
maintain the ability to produce technical documentation on a daily basis
and still be able to create poetry, etc. after a long day. I thought it
would be so easy to put food on the table writing technical doc until I
became that "great American poet." I soon learned that it is easy to lose
ability in one area when the other takes up so much of your time (of course
that assuming that you want your TW to be good). I think the article
over-simplified what it takes to be a GOOD tech writer. I do like their
dress code though!
