Technical Communication Quarterly Jul 2015

Influences on Creativity in Technical Communication: Invention, Motivation, and Constraints

Yuejiao Zhang ; Karla Saari Kitalong Michigan Technological University

Abstract

Interviews with 14 technical communicators reveal that skills in rhetorical invention help them creatively address communication problems. They define creativity in relation to four interrelated exigencies of invention: thinking like a user, reinvigorating dry content, inventing visual ideas, and alternating between heuristic and algorithmic processes. They recognize intrinsic factors such as curiosity and sympathy as motivations for their creativity, while being conscious of the external factors (people, money, and time) that may restrain creativity.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2015-07-03
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2015.1043028
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. McCaughey (2026)
    Model as Missed Opportunity for Writing Transfer During Career Change
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  2. Sarraf (2024)
    Tying Creative Problem-Solving to Social Justice Work in Technical and Professi…
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  3. Sarraf (2023)
    Charting RAD Research as an Orientation to Creativity in Writing Studies
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  4. Sarraf (2022)
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  1. McDaniel et al. (2021)
    Game Design Tactics for Teaching Technical Communication in Online Courses
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  2. Boedy (2017)
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Cites in this index (8)

  1. Hailey et al. (2010)
    Relationship between Innovation and Professional Communication in the “Creative…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Koerber et al. (2008)
    Qualitative Sampling Methods
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Plung (2006)
    Teaching the Complexity of Purpose: Promoting Complete and Creative Communications
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Dayton et al. (2004)
    Results of a Survey , of ATTW Members, 2003
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Whiteside (2003)
    The Skills That Technical Communicators Need: An Investigation of Technical Com…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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  1. Todd (2000)
    Burkean Invention in Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. SLACK et al. (1993)
    The Technical Communicator as Author
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Rutter (1991)
    History, Rhetoric, and Humanism: Toward a More Comprehensive Definition of Tech…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Also cites 10 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 14 View in citation network →

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