I Will Tell You 10 Things About Me

Saw a few of these earlier, and thought I'd join in.

1) I write instruction manuals for a living. They're about as much fun to write as they are to read, which is not at all.

2) I was a camera operator on a short-lived TV show, and a lighting grip on several independent films. It's an amazingly fun job, but sadly doesn't pay well, if at all.

3) I have vivid reoccurring nightmares sometimes.

4) I am a larper and am big into tabletop RPGs, like Dungeons and Dragons and things like that. No, it's not as dorky and corny as popular media would have you believe. I mean, it can be, depending on the people around you, but my group has defied stereotypes of the hobby.

5) I have danced barefoot in the middle of the forest, under the light of a full moon on an autumnal equinox. It was a very cool moment for me, even if I was the only one there.

6) I have laid on the beach in the middle of a storm at night. Just for fun.

7) I've thought about joining an improv comedy group.

8 ) I first met my boyfriend while holding a sword to his throat. It was a foam, larp-safe sword, but still.

9) I have lived in six different US states, and visited over 30 of them.

10) A very young me at various points had dream jobs of working at taco bell (to steal the taco recipes), cargo ship captain, storm chaser, nuclear reactor scientist, and spy. Now I have no dream job.

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LeopoldBloom · M

Hey, at least you’re writing for a living. It’s a start. Imagine when you’re a famous novelist, people will be reading the instruction manuals you wrote for signs of your future style.

FaeLuna · 31-35, F

@LeopoldBloom Somehow I doubt it, but that would be pretty cool! The only way anyone could tell I worked on a manual is by looking for two specific unique-to-me digits as part of a 19-digit serial code on the cover. So if they want to go through the world's most boring scavenger hunt... actually that would be pretty cool. I'd definitely give out prizes if they did that.

LeopoldBloom · M

@FaeLuna Does your company write manuals for specific industries, or for anyone? I'd think it would require specific knowledge, or is it just a matter of reviewing material the company provides, and composing it so that a customer can understand it?

In [i]Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance[/i], Robert Pirsig talks about this, where he would interview assembly line workers to put a manual together.

FaeLuna · 31-35, F

@LeopoldBloom It's a specific industry, and we only write the manuals for the products we make. So I mainly have to talk to our engineers downstairs and get their notes on how it's supposed to work, and combine that with other source material and put it into a language that the end user can understand. And I still need to comply with a style guide that dictates how it's supposed to be formatted, as well as the proper language and phrasing for the sake of a consistent product. So I really don't have much creative ability to add my own mark on it.

LeopoldBloom · M

@FaeLuna Yeah, that makes sense. Pirsig did the same thing. He talked about going to the assembly line to interview someone, and the foreman would have him talk to the biggest goof-off because he couldn't spare anyone else.

I know what you mean about that kind of writing. I have to write a lot for my job, and the parameters are pretty strict. About the only opportunity for anything remotely creative is annual evaluations, nominating people for awards, and disciplinary actions.