User Guides and Press Releases and Web Sites, Oh, My!

So, last week (which seems like eons ago), reader Cat asked me in one of the comments to talk more about my technical writer experience. I said I'd focus on that in my next blog post...but I'm more swamped this week than I expected (You'd think I'd learn that the first week of the semester is a blur, no matter how prepared I thought I was ahead of time.)

So my answer will be abbreviated.

Cat asked: Would you recommend it?

My answer, as I said briefly in last week's Comments section: An enthusiastic YES, but...

Did I enjoy being a technical writer? Absolutely yes. Given the opportunity, I would probably consider doing some freelance technical writing during summers.

So why the "but..."? Because I worked for a small business (fewer than 50 employees) in a niche software industry. I was the company's sole technical writer during my tenure there. And the company used proprietary programming language and a proprietary documentation system. So I don't think my position was indicative of what is common in technical writing as a career field.

I had a great time. I worked with smart, talented people. In addition to writing and editing user manuals for customers, I ended up also writing press releases for distribution to trade publications, marketing materials for sales and promotion. I also ended up as the company's web master for a few years.

But in contrast, a friend of mine worked as a technical editor at a much larger company for a few years, and her experience was very different from mine. Hers was much more about maintaining consistency in style and accuracy in language. She enjoyed her work too, and I'm sure many technical writers are between our (somewhat) extremes.

And here's a bigger "but"...Although it's only been 3 years since I transitioned from that position, I suspect the world of technical writing has changed a lot, due mainly to technological advances and to the economy. I suspect the world has less need of user manuals...just look at how computer and tablet manufacturers provide minimal documentation with their products. More and more, it seems that software companies are embedding documentation within their products (Help menus, in-product or online tutorials, etc.). This means that technical writers need to have as much of a programming or technical background as a strong writing background. I suspect that same need for a technical background applies to most any field that employs technical writers these days--engineering, manufacturing, biotechnology, etc.

I used to be a member of the Society for Technical Communication, and I would highly recommend their web site and resources for a clearer picture of where technical writing is going, what is expected of technical writers, and what opportunities are currently available.

So...if anyone has any questions for me...about anything really...feel free to post them in the comments! (This applies to any post at any time...um, I think.)

A Toast to New Beginnings

Between completing my graduate degree and becoming a professor, I spent over nine years working outside academe. (I frequently marvel at how fortuitous my life has been, despite whatever little hiccups and frustrations I might have along the way.) Working as a technical writer, I regularly found that the coming of Fall brought a poignant nostalgia for the ebb and flow of the academic year. It was a longing for the level of excitement conveyed in that now-cliche Staples ad with the Christmas song.

Except that the parent in the ad is thrilled that the kids are going back, while the kids are miserable. Attribute that thrill to the student, and you have me in grad school.

Yes, I was a nerd, and I'm proud of it. Starting a new semester was truly exciting. It wasn't about getting past another hurdle. It was about new opportunities to learn and explore, new chances to develop my skills and broaden my horizons. Remember what it's like when you're in a new relationship? The mystery? The excitement? The awe? The tentative (or maybe not so tentative) exploration? It's like that.

As much as I had opportunities to broaden my horizons in industry, I still find that the delineation of semesters and academic years has a strong psychological effect on me. As the daylight gets shorter, it gets harder for me to get out of bed in the morning...but the promise of the New (new experiences, new students, new ideas) is remarkably motivating and exciting.  (As is the opportunity to catch up with some former students and follow their progress...the opportunity to follow up on projects begun in previous semesters...it's not ALL about the new. I'm not obsessed with shiny newness for the sake of shiny newness.  Honest.) 

So how does this relate to writing? (Yes, I have all the focus of a Simpsons episode, starting with one thing and ending somewhere else entirely.)

Well, I do get jazzed by totally new story ideas, with as much excitement and energy as the beginnign of a new school year. I'm easily wooed by how attractive and exciting they are. And I am totally guilty of getting sidetracked by such pretties. Sometimes (when I'm lucky), all I need to do is jot down a few ideas and sentences in a new doc and save it for later.  Other times, I have to wrestle that idea to the ground over a few thousand words at least...very distracting. (Could this be why I haven't yet completed a single manuscript? Hmmm.)  Fortunately, Dave White, author of the e-book WITNESS TO DEATH, has a recent--and helpful--guest post at Chuck Wendig's Terrible Minds blog exactly about how to handle distracting new ideas: "New Ideas Are Like Shiny Jewels."**
(**Warning: adult language. And that warning covers the entire Terrible Minds blog. Just in case that matters to you.)

So...what am I saying today?

• Well, one, even if you aren't in academia, new beginnings abound.  New jobs, new friends, new endeavors, and, yes, new story ideas.  Celebrate them.  Don't miss out on the excitement, don't try to block out the nervousness...celebrate the moment. It will inevitably pass (which is not a necessarily a bad thing...but it's worth being aware of how fleeting "new" is).
• Two, be adventurous. No, I don't mean go climb Mt. Everest or quit your day job to explore the Amazon. But consider the last time you tried something new. This past summer, I took an African Dance class, just for the chance to try something new...and it was awesome. As the instructor explained, African dances sometimes require your muscles to move in unfamiliar ways; the rhythms and movements and cultural background all awakened my senses anew.
• Three...here is my "Toast to New Beginnings":

Celebrate the new, even as you cherish the old.

Embrace the unknown, even as you cling to the familiar.

Seek out life, even unto death.

So you think you can write?

Since my last post led down some depressing paths, I'm determined to make this next one lighter...sunnier.  Like last time, a confluence of ideas has merged for me into today's overriding message.

Here's a hint from Disney's Ratatouille: (Insert scene in which "everyone can cook!")

So last week, I read this blog post by Kristen Lamb last week asking "Are We Born to Create?", in which she mused about whether some people are born writers, and here was part of my comment on that post:

Hmm…I actually think everyone has stories in them that they could write. Whether they do or not might be a matter of encouragement or motivation. And some people might have more innate talent at putting words together, but people with the committed drive to write can learn to do it well.

Here is what I tell my First-Year English Composition students:
Everyone can be a good writer.

Not everyone can be the next Stephen King or Joan Didion (or whoever you define as a great writer), but everyone in my classrooms has the potential to be a good writer. Some writers may need more than a semester to get there, but they can. I've had the honor of working with several students who just needed encouragement in productive directions in order to see that they were capable of much more than they'd expected. They didn't know that they could write, but they absolutely could. Maybe not A-level writing, but then again, I really am a hardass.

Ths doesn't mean writing is easy. Not a chance in hell. Okay, so some gifted writers may find it easy, but everyone has stories within them. And a not-so-gifted writer who has a burning desire to share their stories has, in my mind, just as much potential for success as a writer for whom words flow like water. Some writers may need to learn some of the tools and tricks and tips that come naturally to others. They don't all follow the same path or fit into the same timeframe, but there's nothing innate that says one person "is a writer" while another isn't.

So...today's message is nothing new, but it sometimes needs to be heard anew.

Anyone can write.

It may take writing and rewriting and workshopping and practice. It may take years.

But anyone can write.

(Is that as comforting to you as it is to me?)

How do you want to be remembered?

"The man hated coconut."

"His smile was absolutely infectious."

"He lived with the best kind of humility--not the artificial humility that some people put on, but with the recognition that all people have their strengths, talents and experiences for which we should respect them."

    --quotes about my father in the eulogy given by his friend (and former boss). I hadn't remembered the coconut thing, but it explains my disgust with the white shreds of evil.

---

The question "How do you want to be remembered?" has been sort of a recurring theme for me over the past year. Personally and professionally, it's come up again and again in different contexts and scenarios. So I shouldn't be surprised that it reverberates through this summer.

The culminating project in a special leadership seminar I participated in at work was to write our own personal mission statements. Some people might perceive this as a touchy-feely exercise, but I found it profoundly important, especially coming so soon after the death of my father.  Some people end up focusing on the values they hold most dear; some people focus on the most fundamental roles they play; some people focus on what ultimately defines success for them.  There's no wrong way to do this...as long as you're being authentic.

Despite my general avoidance of New Year's resolutions, my statement ended up being a list of resolutions--each of which expresses who/what I value and how I want to exemplify those values. Do I want to be remembered as a devoted spouse? Yes. A loving and supportive parent? Yes. As a hardass professor who expected the best from her students? You bet.  As a stunningly brilliant writer? Well, don't we all? I won't share my whole mission statement, but here's one point from it that I feel applies to all aspects of my life--family, friends, students, colleagues, writers, strangers...

I resolve to be more present--to focus more on the present moment as much as possible so I don't miss precious opportunities and experiences.

Not so easy. Not when it feels like 5 billion things are clamoring for my attention at once.  But that's one of my goals. For me, it's not directly about how I want to be remembered but what I think I need to do to personify what is most important to me.

Here's a little twist in the "How do you want to be remembered?" reverie. What we do in the digital world sticks around long after we've forgotten; all these bytes in the clouds have the potential to live forever. So, for instance, high school students don't just have to worry that pics of underage debauchery may be found by future college admissions reps...they have to worry about future spouses...and grandchildren...and historians. Previous generations could more easily hide some indiscretions (although Clinton "didn't inhale")...but now the lines between public and private are increasingly blurred.

And Adam Ostrow's TED presentation "After your final status update" shows a seriously plausible SciFi-turned-reality kind of immortality through our digitized selves

This has all sorts of repercussions. How do I want to be remembered? How much of that can I control? Both online and off, I can control quite a lot about how people perceive me, especially if I limit how much of myself they get to see.  But I still can't control everything.  I can control my actions and reactions by keeping my own ends and motives and values in mind. I can consider how closely my behavior (and my online presence) reflects my personal mission in life (and make adjustments accordingly...whether to my mission or to my actions).  And I'd consider myself lucky if I could be remembered as the kind of person my father was.

And so...I'd like to give you a little homework assignment:

• Take a few moments (or a few days) to think about how you want to be remembered.  If you feel inclined, maybe draft your own mission statement.  You might compartmentalize (how do I want to be remembered as a writer....as a parent...etc) or you might do the whole "meaning of life" thing.  Whatever feels right to you.
• Then, if you're willing to share, post some of your thoughts here in the comments section. 

I think you'll find the exercise surprisingly valuable.  Thanks for reading.

CoN AFTER-PARTY

Reason 4,483,764 why I'm so fond of the writing community fostered by Jason Evans and his wife Aine at The Clarity of Night blog: the incredibly wonderful and thoughtful and generous writers...some of whom are hosting an After-Party in appreciation for not just this round but all the contests he's run over the years. My God, has it really been years?!

Stop by and raise a virtual glass.

Now what do you really think?

Part 1

(photo courtesy of The Clarity of Night blog by Jason Evans)

Here's my entry from the Clarity of Night "Elemental" contest. I received lots of lovely feedback, but now what I'm looking for is constructive criticism, anywhere from premise to POV to plot to language use. What are its shortcomings? What could be improved?

For instance, I know I used basic, direct language and sentence structure. Could it/should it have been more poetic? More complex in structure?

Here's another...At least one commenter noticed that I didn't clearly identify the narrator's gender. That was deliberate (and I could explain, if anyone cares), but does that work for you? Would it have been more effective if you knew the narrator was male?

Yet another...There are jumps that might leave the reader unclear about shifts in time and location. Problem?

____________________

Oleander
by Precie


Without warning, the world ended in fire.


Or, at least, there was no warning for my people.


Mother correcting my brother's penmanship before school. Father ordering me to get a haunch of beef from the refrigerator to prepare for the lunch rush.


The lights go out. The ground bucks and waves. Massive slabs of meat buffet me as I try to dodge the barbed hooks clanging around me.


Even after the earth settles, the electricity does not return. When I finally find the door, it does not give. I have no way to tell how much time passes, how much time I spend screaming, pounding at the door. No way to tell how much of the fluid on my hands is blood or tears or excretion, as the smells combine with the rotting carcasses surrounding me.


“You were one of the lucky ones,” I am told over and over by rescuers, by doctors, by other survivors.


I do not feel lucky. How can such an endless nightmare be lucky? Almost nothing is left standing. Ashen remains blend into the rubble.


The emperor will not let this cowardly strike on innocents go unpunished. He will rain an answering fire on our enemies.


I do my part. The Red Cross nurses, foreign and incomprehensible, smile as I sprinkle the oleander blossoms on their desk and lay out the meager feast I have concocted from their rations. They will be the first to burn, from the inside out.

____________________

Part 2

(Photo courtesy of http://www.agriviet.com/)

Here's some explication...backstory about a few of my choices, if you will.

• "without warning"--The first two lines were important to me because that's how the bombing started. Although the US put wheels in motion to inform Japan that the bombing would happen, there were glitches and ultimately no warning was given, certainly not to the people of Hiroshima.
• oleander--Oleander is poisonous when injested (blossoms, bark, any part of it), but that wasn't the reason I chose it for the story. Initially, the food was poisoned in some unspecified way. BUT...oleander was the first flower to rebloom after the bombing. It wasn't until the spring of 1946. So my timing is a little off...since I intended this to be closer to the actual bombing. Some evergreen trees were only burned in parts, but I don't know if any delicate oleander blossoms would have survived. Anywhooo, you don't need me to spiral into this subject. Just wanted you to know what the oleander meant to me.

Thanks very much for reading.  And thanks in advance for any responses.

Warning: iRant ahead--Love Triangles

First:
I have one hour. Blog or work on WIP? Decisions, decisions. Well, it's been about a week so I'm due for a post...and I am preoccupied so...words beget words, anyway.

Now then:
Why this post exists: I've been reading voraciously lately, as my GoodReads profile attests. There's something very freeing about not limiting myself to "literary" reading. But I happened to read two YA fantasies close together, and their similar use of a particular type of love triangle just plain rubbed me the wrong way. (See below for my disclaimers.)

In both, the girl is strongly attracted to two very different boys, who both have contrasting strongly attractive characteristics. She goes back and forth about who to give her affections to, until she eventually has to decide. Or in one case, she sort of has the decision made for her when one of the boys takes himself out of the equation. Note: I'm using the terminology girl and boy not to belittle but because one of the books I'm talking about actually used those terms.

I have many issues with this particular love triangle trope.

Perhaps one of the things that stands out most for me personally is that it doesn't really work if you flip the genders. A boy equally attracted to two different girls comes across as a player. (I'll grant that, in GREY'S ANATOMY, Owen's brief little triangle is okay with me, but that's because of the way he handles it. And, yes, I watch GREY'S ANATOMY--as much for the Meredith/Christina dynamics as anything else.) What the girls do in these books can be viewed as indecision...weakness. Sure, it can be excused by their youth. But it still bugs me. Relationships aren't like shoes...hmm, which one goes best with this dress? Real relationships are conscious choices, active commitments...not the kind of "Well, gee, he's swell. Oh, wait, he's peachy too. But Boy 1 is so brooding. But Boy 2 is so devoted." Back and forth and back and forth. Ugh.

Disclaimer A: I'm not criticizing all use of love triangles in writing. I see their dramatic purpose. And one of my favorite films is BROADCAST NEWS, which includes what I see as a heartachy version. I root for Man B as the worthy one, yet I'm especially pleased by the resolution in which neither man gets the girl and all live happily ever after anyway. (Sorry if that's a spoiler for anyone!)

Disclaimer B: "Well, she's just bitchy because she's never been in a love triangle." Um, it's true that I've never been the object of affection for two men simultaneously. But that doesn't make me embittered; it makes me grateful. Aside from youthful infatuations, I've been blessed with a clarity of vision in that regard. But I'll admit, maybe I just don't understand the reality of situation. Please, enlighten me. Seriously.

Disclaimer C: Yes, I'm "in a mood." So I reserve the right to disavow this rant at some future point. In fact, I fully expect that my Muse will deliberately throw a love triangle in my way so that I have to eat my words. She's so cruel. (And, in fact, as I write this last disclaimer, she is trying to insert a kind of love triangle into my next WIP, a sequel to the one I'm working on now. Dammit. But at least the heroine is clear about her affections, just not so clear about her marriage prospects.)

So...pardon my rambly rant. If you'd like to share some insights to temper my perspective, please do! And here's something to restore the balance: New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" (Live)...sorry if there's an ad at the beginning.

"Every time I see you falling / I get down on my knees and pray / waiting for that final moment you'll / say the words that I can't say."