Technical writing poses an inherent danger, if done according to some peoples will and fiercely guarded opinion, the result should be sold in your neighborhood pharmacy as sleeping-aid, possibly covered by Medicare. There are two opposing factions at war, actually. One of them thinks technical writing should
never contain any humor, paint an understandable picture, or (god forbid) should be fun to read. The other faction thinks the opposite is true. There is some middle-ground, granted, but still…
I don't mean to advocate one or the other here. As a writer, I
have to trust the editor and his/her knowledge of the intended audience, but when skimming over my bookshelves, the latter faction won – in my case, at least. The majority of my technical books works as reading material on the beach (in bed / in the bathroom / take your pick), as well. There is a minority of books I read once, found the contents interesting, but gathering dust by now, because, as stated, they were interesting, but not fun to read. There
may be a connection regarding the style of my preferred fiction books, but hey, who says science
has to be boring? It's about getting a point across, isn't it?
To illustrate
my point here, head to the
ISC website and read the article
Follow the Bouncing Malware IX: eGOLDFINGER, it is an excellent example (some people might think a bit over the top, you have been warned) of how to write about a, sometimes kind of boring, subject, security. Tom Liston did a fantastic job describing a common malaise in today's IT-world. IMHO, of course ;-)
Speaking of painting a picture, I collect quotes, as most authors do. I stumbled over a nice quote in my collection yesterday:
The herd instinct among economists makes sheep look like independent thinkers.
