atw: Re: Apart from using Word 2002, what else am I doing wrong?

Steve Hudson:

> Now while you are all deciding what to call me, I will get back to my
> WRITING. It is not creative writing, it is technical. I am not doing
> technical illustrations, although my proficiency covers basic and
> intermediate implementations of this. I would never apply for a technical
> illustrator role, yet you suggest that they also be called Technical
> Communicators.

All writing is (or can and should be) creative. What is commonly called 
"creative 
writing" is really "imaginative writing". There's something of a continuum 
between straight fiction, fiction in a historically accurate setting, a 
fictionalised 
account of historical events, a historical narrative, and a history text. All 
require 
creativity in one way or another -- as does a good user manual.

The relationship between text and graphics is complex. The saying "A picture is 
worth a thousand words" is only partly (and only sometimes) true -- sometimes 
we need a graphic to support or clarify text, but equally often we need some 
extra text to support or clarify the graphic. The producer of the text and the 
producer of the graphic are contributing jointly to the communication process, 
but in my experience it's the person producing the text who specifies what the 
graphic is to show. So the "writer" is primarily responsible for the 
communication's success or failure.

And what is the "writer's" role in layout? Few "writers" are trained in 
typography and layout, but most "writers" I know are keen to exercise control 
over the final appearance of their work. Typography and layout are equally 
critical to the success or failure of the communication.



Michael Lewis

--------------------------------------
Brandle Pty Limited, Sydney, Australia
www.brandle.com.au
--------------------------------------


**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to 
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to 
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field.

To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field.

To search the austechwriter archives, go to 
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to 
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************

Other related posts: