Les Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Never really like that Bonnie T anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bernhardt Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 A bought a copy of the "Handbook of Technical Writing" eighth addition by authors Gerald J. Alfred, Charles T. Brusaw and Walter E. Oliu published by St Martin's press. I really like its style and the way it's laid out for referencing. Its one of those books for me anyways that no matter what page I randomly flip to there is something interesting. The Alan Carson article was interesting and I have read it several times. When Jim Morrision said to only provide useful information at first that seemed like well duh but I didn't understand what that meant at the time. Another interesting thing that this book goes into is oral presentations something that I have not really put attention to. I know I have a lot to improve on in that area and it occured to be that the oral presentation could become a good way to differentiate and market yourself as much as the inspection report. The Carson article touched on it. Chris, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSwamp Posted May 10, 2007 Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 Some years back, Charlie Wood -- one of my early HI mentors and possibly the most savvy man ever in the HI biz -- hired me to edit/re-write 10,000 boilerplate comments in his then-company's "comment library." My mission was to get rid of the sub-standard stuff, to write copy that couldn't be misunderstood, and so cut down on customer claims that were caused by bad writing. Here's some of the stuff I remember from that job: *The "it's screwed bad but it's OK" doubletalk description. Many words that tried to convince a reader that the HI has made a thorough evaluation and found a house part to be defective, but not so defective as to need any fixing. (The heinous word "monitor" was used a lot.) *The Guru The Guru writes endless yammer meant to make the reader believe that the HI/writer is the smartest man in the world. *Infinitely Generic One description started with something like, "The home is a lakefront/oceanfront/riverfront dwelling..." Such writing pretty much proves that the writer is incapable of independent thought. *Passive Voice Evil is what is caused by passive voice. Cowards are those who use passive voice. And they sound like Yoda. *Appears To Be My favorite: "Plumbing appears to be copper." Why not just say, "Visible plumbing is copper." *Starting a recommendation with the word, "recommend." As in, "Recommend servicing of A/C unit." Taken literally, that means the reader should recommend the servicing. It's lazy, sloppy writing. *"Required." HIs write something like, "Replacing the furnace is required." Well, no, it's not required. It might need to be done, but it's not required. Nobody kicks down your door if you don't replace your furnace. "Mandatory" is another HI favorite, which is also always wrong. *"Illegal." "The water heater installation is illegal." Now the HI's the sheriff... There's so much more. Later, we'll talk about non-sequiturs and logical breakdowns. As you was, WJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSwamp Posted May 10, 2007 Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 Brother Katen wrote: Yes, Walter recommends the "Chicago Manual of Style" (not nearly as entertaining as Strunk & White in my opinion) and James Kilpatrick's "The Writer's Art." I've never read that book, but I used to read the newspaper columns that the book comprises. Kilpatrick's good. - Jim Katen, Oregon I say: I amend my comments on the CMS. It's pretty much necessary for newspaper writers (which includes me), but not so useful for HIs. Strunk is better. "The Writer's Art," however, is the best book of its kind, IMHO. Educational, and a great read. WJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian G Posted May 10, 2007 Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 Welcome to TIJ Walter. Visit often; the company is good here. Brian G. TIJ + WJ Is Like Chocolate + Peanut Butter [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted May 10, 2007 Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 Yes, A warm welcome to TIJ, WJ. Glad to see you stopping by. Come back often! For those of you who don't know Mr. Jowers, pay attention to what he tells you about report writing and word usage, 'cuz he's got some incredible skills in that area. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozofprev Posted May 10, 2007 Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 Yes, welcome! I was recently accused of being your replacement here - I assured everyone that I am not qualified. Be sure to look at the last line in any of Brian G's posts - clever, and they crack me up. He's also a Saints fan, so we share a bond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bernhardt Posted May 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the initials "WJ". But checked Walters profile and yep, holy cow, thats the man himself. Being a new ASHI member I have been digging thru the forums where to this point was the only place I could read his opinions. Chris, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieb Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Welcome WJ, Did Sonofswamp come before or after rabbit skinner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSwamp Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Originally posted by charlieb Welcome WJ, Did Sonofswamp come before or after rabbit skinner? I was born SonOfSwamp. Took me a while to work my way up to rabbit skinner. That title comes from the true story of me trying to get a job in a rabbit-processing plant. Long story short, I was overqualified, and they turned me down. WJ A man who could not get a job skinning rabbits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 I've heard a lot about you, read your columns and laughed at your humor, but this is the first time I've seen any proof that you exist. Nice to meet you. Well, sort of meet you. In 1995 I was fixin' to in install my first flat seam copper roof. I read an old issue of JLC ( when they were good) from around 1988 and read an article on terne coated steel roofing. I called a "Walter Jowers" (I had no idea the guy was a hotshot) from Tennessee and left a message asking for advice and never received a return call. So, if you get the message now, don't bother calling back, the roof is done. Welcome to the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Trenga Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Hello all. It's been a while... I've been waiting to hear the status of my InspectionWorld proposal. Declined. Oh well. I do have news, though. You can read some more of my writing wisdom starting the end of August. I'm the new grammar columnist for Writer's Digest Magazine, a mag. for writers. I address home inspectors in my article for the October issue (out Aug 21). I hope you'll read it! How's the writing life going? Bonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozofprev Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Declined. Arrrrrrgghh! Well, it is nice of you to check on us. I see where that magazine offers a freebie, so if I were a cheap s.o.b., when would I put in that request? Our work increases with nice weather, so if we're lucky it's been pretty busy. (Today is my second day off in the past six.) I look forward to your article. Thanks for writing about us - or should I curse you because you used us as examples of how not to write? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Bonnie Returns! Cool; put up a link when it's out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Trenga Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Hi. Go for the freebie, of course. It's 104 today where I am, so I pity Phoenix-based home inspectors! Don't worry. I was nice in my article. Originally posted by ozofprev Declined. Arrrrrrgghh! Well, it is nice of you to check on us. I see where that magazine offers a freebie, so if I were a cheap s.o.b., when would I put in that request? Our work increases with nice weather, so if we're lucky it's been pretty busy. (Today is my second day off in the past six.) I look forward to your article. Thanks for writing about us - or should I curse you because you used us as examples of how not to write? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Hi Bonnie, Glad to see that you are back. As for IW and the selection process, this year they had over 125 submittals to fill around 35 slots. As a former Education Committee chair, this was the most difficult part of the job. One thing I can tell you is that several folks dropout and can't make the commitment for whatever reason. Then it is replacement time. I would say that on the average 3-5 folks dropout every year and need replacing. I would send a second note to the ED director Michale Long at ASHI saying that you are willing to fill in any open spot, that is if your are willing to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 I feel your pain, Bonnie. I've been "declined" by pretty much every publisher in the free world. I continue to plug away, however, in hope that one day . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Trenga Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 What are you trying to get published? Memoirs of a Home Inspector? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 Hi, This is interesting. I just noticed that in just a little bit over 5 months, this topic has had nearly 4,000 views. That's huge. Our oldest topic, after 5 years has been viewed less than 30,000 and the next topic to that only 12,000. Apparently, there's a tremendous amount of interest in this topic. Hmmm, OT - OF!!! M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicago Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 Nah.. we just like Bonnie she sounds like good people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 Nothing to do with home inspection, Mike. I've sold two teleplays that weren't produced to a now-defunct drama series on television, and I currently have a feature-film screenplay optioned through my LA agent. Fiction is what I love, though. A couple of years ago, I worked on a novel for nearly six months with a brilliant editor at a major publishing house. Ultimately, however, we were unable to convince her superiors that the thing would generate what they felt were adequate revenues. I'm presently working on another novel, one that hopefully will be seen as more palatable to the masses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bernhardt Posted May 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 Has anyone ever put on a narrative workshop for inspectors? Chris, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillip Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 What I need is a good course on the written word, not one put out by the software companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozofprev Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 Chris and Phillip, I'm with ya!! Like Mike said, this is an extremely popular topic. You know what???? I think it would make an excellent topic for a presentation at IW? It might even be the most attended presentation ever. What do you think? Great idea, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Morrison Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 The best report writing seminar I've seen is Mark Cramer's. My chapter flew him to NE a bunch of years ago for a half day class, and it was very, very good. When discussing politics, his views should be summarily dismissed, but this man can teach a home inspector to write, and that's saying something. Find him and learn from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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