Devoted to technical writing and technical writers

I moved into my new office yesterday in the "Pebble Beach" section of the Microsoft campus in Redmond, WA. Coincidentally, it was the same day that the President of China was visiting. It was kind of surreal to travel around campus and see the security barriers erected and small groups of protestors scattered here and there. As I moved about doing some first day errands, I thought how difficult it must be to negotiate business interests and balance them with human rights concerns.

At a microcosmic level, that negotiation is precisely what takes place for all of us on a daily basis. We weigh our own desire to produce quality documentation against other interests imposed upon us (certain authoring tools, conflicting opinions on the subject matter, legal edits, etc.). Sometimes writing, like life, can be an endlessly fascinating middle game of strategy and negotiation, don't you think?