<P> A scribe writes ideas and information on behalf of another, sometimes copying from another document, sometimes from oral instruction on behalf of an illiterate person, sometimes transcribing from another medium such as a tape recording, shorthand, or personal notes . </P> <P> Being able to write was a rare achievement for over 500 years in Western Europe so monks who copied texts were scribes responsible for saving many texts from classical times . The monasteries, where monks who knew how to read and write lived, provided an environment stable enough for writing . Irish monks, for example, came to Europe in about 600 and "found manuscripts in places like Tours and Toulouse" which they copied . The monastic writers also illustrated their books with highly skilled art work using gold and rare colours . </P> <P> A technical writer prepares instructions or manuals, such as user guides or owner's manuals for users of equipment to follow . Technical writers also write various procedures for business, professional or domestic use . Since the purpose of technical writing is practical rather than creative, its most important quality is clarity . The technical writer, unlike the creative writer, is required to adhere to the relevant style guide . </P> <P> There is a range of approaches that writers take to the task of writing . Each writer needs to find his or her own process and most describe it as more or less a struggle . Sometimes writers have had the bad fortune to lose their work and have had to start again . Before the invention of photocopiers and electronic text storage, a writer's work had to be stored on paper, which meant it was very susceptible to fire in particular . (In very early times, writers used vellum and clay which were more robust materials .) Writers whose work was destroyed before completion include L.L. Zamenhof, the inventor of Esperanto, whose years of work were thrown into the fire by his father because he was afraid that "his son would be thought a spy working code". Essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle, lost the only copy of a manuscript for The French Revolution: A History when it was mistakenly thrown into the fire by a maid . He wrote it again from the beginning . Writers usually develop a personal schedule . Angus Wilson, for example, wrote for a number of hours every morning . </P>

This is an authors intention reason or drive for writing the piece