The Beach Writer 11:56 am on December 26, 2011
Tags: Evernote, moleskin, technical writing ( 2 ), writer ( 29 ), Writing ( 54 ), writing tools

Tools don’t make the writer

Twice last week I read blogs and forum discussions involving writers judging other writers by what tools they use.

According to a blogger who writes fiction, you aren’t a real writer if you don’t carry a moleskin notebook and fancy pen with you everywhere. And according to a professional writer in a forum discussion, you aren’t a real technical writer if you use, and especially if you prefer, the most commonly used word processing program rather than the program currently favored by the DOD.

I have carried a moleskin notebook in my past and remember how richly appealing they are to hold and scribble thoughts in. But my notes and writing fragments are just as valuable captured electronically using Evernote on my smart phone. That frees me from lugging around a bag big enough for a moleskin and continually fishing in it for my favorite pen.

I have used several different programs to develop manuals, procedures and instructions, and I enjoy learning new ones whenever possible. But I find that each has its pros and cons and believe that the perfect technical writing software has yet to be designed. I therefore prefer the tool requested or required by the employer or client because that is the tool that enables me to get the job done.

It is beyond my expertise to explain why some writers develop a tool obsession, or why so many humans in general feel they have to put others down to build themselves up. But both are a waste of time and talent.

Writers are writers because of the content they produce, not the tool they use to capture, display or distribute it.

Go forth and write something worth reading.

The Beach Writer 1:33 pm on December 9, 2011
Tags: business-speak ( 2 ), communication ( 2 ), jargon ( 2 ), professional writing ( 4 ), Writing ( 54 )

In a timely manner, the sequel

Right after posting yesterday’s blog entry, as I was making my rounds through business article sites, I found two articles talking about the persistent problem of poor business writing.

The first, from Forbes, reminds us that words matter. The second, from a website for HR personnel, focuses on workers feeling that their colleagues don’t communicate well.

Although these articles vary in perspective, they have a couple of things in common. One is the overuse and misuse of the word “cascade” in the business world. And two, that there definitely is a problem.

I wrote yesterday that poor business writing was so common that it rarely prompted comment anymore. I am happy to be wrong about that!

The Beach Writer 10:13 am on December 8, 2011
Tags: business publications, business-speak ( 2 ), communication ( 2 ), deadlines, jargon ( 2 ), job postings, professional writing ( 4 ), social media, web pages, Writing ( 54 )

In a timely manner?

In my former career lives I have been a newspaper reporter, editor, and publisher. From my earliest reporter days I learned that a deadline is just what it says, the line you must not cross or you’ll be dead.

As a reporter you’ll be figuratively dead. As an editor it gets more serious and as a publisher, missing deadlines means missing the checks from all those advertisers or readers, and therefore, being career dead.

The definition of deadline, per Dictionary.com, is “the time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something…”

MUST be finished. The LATEST time for finishing.

Why am I harping on something so basic? Because it apparently isn’t basic.

I cruise online job postings each morning, not because I am looking but because I like to keep up with the terminology used when hiring others who do what I do. This is usually a rather sleepy task that doesn’t require a lot of thought on my part and therefore goes well with my first dose of caffeine for the day. But this morning was different.

This morning I read something that set off my inner Grammar Queen and woke up my former journalistic self.

In a posting for a Documentation Consultant, under the heading “Desired skills we seek” was this…

Ability to meet deadlines in a timely manner

Are they being redundant? Judging by the heading, that was my first guess, given that “desired skills” implies they are the skills the company is seeking, rendering “we seek” useless extra.

Or are they truly unaware that a deadline is a firm, unwavering thing? Adding “in a timely manner” implies that deadline in that company means suggested completion date. It’s now a wish list. A plea?

Poor writing leads to confusion, questions, and, in my home, an early morning rant about the lack of knowledge and professionalism in the business world. Of course, it’s nothing new. Grammatical errors, jargon, and business-speak litter not just job postings but also business web pages, corporate publications and now social media. It’s so commonplace that it rarely draws comment anymore.

But that doesn’t mean that readers and consumers of their information don’t notice the apparent disregard for professional writing and clear communication. It’s difficult to quantify how that affects business. Do companies lose sales? Potential employees?

I think they do.

That’s why companies should hire professional writers.

The Beach Writer 5:12 pm on November 29, 2011
Tags: know your audience ( 3 ), nobody reads the manual, Writing ( 54 )

Nobody reads the manual?

Google nobody reads the manual and you’ll get a list of pages that range from tech writers lamenting that their efforts are wasted to tech support complaining that they get calls from users who not only don’t read but probably can’t read the manual. It’s all very negative, not toward the manual itself, but toward the reader, or more accurately, the non-reader.

Just last weekend my husband asked me to hand him the manual for our car. He wasn’t looking to cure insomnia and he didn’t start at the beginning and read straight through. What he wanted to know was what type of power steering fluid to buy and add to the car. In years past he has consulted the manual for other important information such as the correct type of coolant and the location of the serial number of our factory-installed radio.

As I watched him thumb through the pages to the desired information and then hand the manual back to me, I remembered that nobody reads the manual and wondered why we accept that as truth? And why we blame the reader?

One of the most basic tips for writers is to know (and respect) your audience. If the manual is going to be read, who will be doing the reading? What information do they want? Need?

A manual is not likely to be read cover to cover like a novel. In my experience it is usually consulted to solve a specific problem and even then only as a last, or next to last, resort. It’s safe to say that the average manual reader is already out of patience before opening the cover and searching for a table of contents or index.

If we want a manual to be read, it must be written with the end user, the reader, in mind rather than written to please an executive or a technical writer.

If we organize and write manuals in a way that makes sense to their readers, with the information readers want most easily accessible, the manual still won’t be read in the traditional sense, but it just might be used in a pinch before resorting to calling tech support.

And isn’t that really what a manual is for?

The Beach Writer 2:41 pm on November 21, 2011
Tags: Beach ( 30 ), Creativity ( 22 ), Inspiration ( 4 ), Muse, Writing ( 54 )

Beach, Beach, Beach

This is the entrance to my office.

And this is my view…

I don’t necessarily type a lot here, but this is where I do my best work. It’s where the words come easily and weave into whatever I want to create.

The beach is always the same thing only different. Sand, water and wind carve out new niches, uncover what has been hidden, and reclaim what was just there a moment ago.

That is the sameness, the steadiness. But what is exposed and what is smoothed over changes day to day, hour to hour, moment to moment.

That is the difference, the endless creating and recreating of something new.

The beach is where can’t gives way to can, and where new beats up on same old same old.

Some might call the beach my muse, but it doesn’t whisper in my ear words that only I can hear. Rather, the rush of the wind and the crash of the waves drown out all of the noise of the world around me and inside my head, leaving me with a clean and quiet slate, a blank page on which to create.

The beach is as important to my writing process as the keyboard and the screen. It’s more important, ultimately, because the beach is what gets me started.