<P> Writers can produce material across a number of genres, fictional or non-fictional . Other writers use multiple media--for example, graphics or illustration--to enhance the communication of their ideas . Another recent demand has been created by civil and government readers for the work of non-fictional technical writers, whose skills create understandable, interpretive documents of a practical or scientific nature . Some writers may use images (drawing, painting, graphics) or multimedia to augment their writing . In rare instances, creative writers are able to communicate their ideas via music as well as words . </P> <P> As well as producing their own written works, writers often write on how they write (that is, the process they use); why they write (that is, their motivation); and also comment on the work of other writers (criticism). Writers work professionally or non-professionally, that is, for payment or without payment and may be paid either in advance (or on acceptance), or only after their work is published . Payment is only one of the motivations of writers and many are never paid for their work . The term writer is often used as a synonym of author, although the latter term has a somewhat broader meaning and is used to convey legal responsibility for a piece of writing, even if its composition is anonymous, unknown or collaborative . </P> <P> Writers choose from a range of literary genres to express their ideas . Most writing can be adapted for use in another medium . For example, a writer's work may be read privately or recited or performed in a play or film . Satire for example, may be written as a poem, an essay, a film, a comic play, or a piece of journalism . The writer of a letter may include elements of criticism, biography, or journalism . </P> <P> Many writers work across genres . The genre sets the parameters but all kinds of creative adaptation have been attempted: novel to film; poem to play; history to musical . Writers may begin their career in one genre and change to another . For example, historian William Dalrymple began in the genre of travel literature and also writes as a journalist . Many writers have produced both fiction and non-fiction works and others write in a genre that crosses the two . For example, writers of historical romances, such as Georgette Heyer, invent characters and stories set in historical periods . In this genre, the accuracy of the history and the level of factual detail in the work both tend to be debated . Some writers write both creative fiction and serious analysis, sometimes using different names to separate their work . Dorothy Sayers, for example, wrote crime fiction but was also a playwright, essayist, translator, and critic . </P>

Write a brief definition for the following term public works