Re: Staring into space

Subject: Re: Staring into space
From: Greg Van Pelt <gregvp -at- SPRYNET -dot- COM>
Date: Fri, 9 Apr 1999 15:31:51 -0500

I can no longer lurk on the sidelines. I laughed aloud when I read Kevin's
comments
(See below). I am also a last-minute wordsmith. I do lots of head scratching in
between the deadlines because the software I document has no user interface. It
runs on a mainframe and improves the hardware performance. The audience for my
implementation guide includes developers and system administrators, so I rely
upon the SME to tell me how the product works! I do not stare into space; I
stare into code, hoping to extract some useful information for the manual. This
method requires a lot of patience compared to writing about a hands-on software
product. I get frustrated with complex system topics until the light bulb
finally switches from dim to bright (usually after SME cooperation). My dance
begins when the manual accurately depicts all features of the product.


Kevin McLauchlan wrote:

> "A writer is working even when he is staring into space."
>
> Having gotten more than I bargained for when I started
> the "Guesstimate THIS!" thread, I'm almost afraid to lob
> another grenade into the paint factory... but ...
>
> About that truism... er, I mean... opinion at the start of
> the message... is it true for you?
>
> I think I might resort to open warfare if I found myself
> reporting to a micro-manager. I understand that some
> people's writing method involves producing a ten-level
> outline on day three of the job, which they then fill in
> over the ensuing weeks/months with hardly a deviation.
>
> I, on the other hand, start with a loose ToC, spend a
> lot of time futzing with the product (if a version is available),
> chatting up the SMEs (various), and often doing quite
> unrelated stuff, while "whatever-it's-going-to-be" percolates
> in the back of my head. Then, with the approach of one
> of the deadlines, some threshold is reached, the lightbulb
> switches on, and I begin to write. From that point, I burn
> through the hours or days, hardly coming up for air until a
> draft is nearly ready. Then I give it a quick edit and hand
> it to somebody who's supposed to want it at that time.
>
> There follows a period of housekeeping and personal
> scratching (the itches that I didn't even notice while in
> flow) and socializing (who *are* all these new people?),
> until the draft comes back with funny marks on it.
>
> Then, there's a dance (brief or lengthy) about content
> revisions, possibly some waiting for last-minute stuff and
> a frantic day-or-two stuffing it all in and taking out the
> bits that no longer apply. A final copy is circulated and
> signed, and we all do the pizza-and-beer thing. My
> manager, and/or the Veep of engineering remarks on
> how much better the docmentation continues to be since
> I came aboard, and there might be a day or three of
> relative "down time" until the next project nears a milestone.
>
> There are usually a couple-or-five simmering at any one
> time, but generally no more than two of them come to
> a boil simultaneously. I don't pay that much attention
> myself, but I'm told that the difference between my
> demeanor in the heavy writing phase of a single project
> versus a couple of simultaneous ones is that I seem
> to blink very little during the latter, while the fingers
> fly. That could explain the dusty eyeballs.
>
> But, all seriousness aside, are there really more than
> the two basic styles among the pros -- those who always
> had their homework done early and those who take a less
> regimented approach, need to percolate for a while, and
> then respond to an urgency threshold to bring it all together?
>
> I really AM -- or at least, CAN be -- working even when
> I'm staring into space, and I wondered if people found
> one working style or another to be (relatively) a help or
> hindrance in contract/independent work versus full-time
> permanent employ. Similarly, might there be a consensus
> as to which styles of writer do best with which styles of
> oversight/management?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kevin McLauchlan
> kmclauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com (aka kevinmcl -at- netrover -dot- com)
> Journeyman techy writer, duffer skydiver, full-time unrepentent chocoholic
>
> PS: Having said all that, I wonder how many prospective
> future employment doors I just slammed in my own
> face... :-)
>
> From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000==


From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=



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