By Sue Heim, VP Membership, San Diego STC Chapter
All new and transferring members to the San Diego chapter are invited to the New Member Orientation Dinner, to be held Tuesday, October 14th, at 6:00 p.m. Come meet your council members and fellow new members, poolside, at the Hanalei Hotel. Enjoy dinner at no charge, compliments of San Diego STC.
Members who have joined STC or transferred into the San Diego chapter since September 2002 will receive an invitation to the dinner. Your RSVP will be appreciated. For more information, contact Sue Heim, VP Membership at sue_heim@msn.com.
"Careers in Writing" Presented at UCSD Extension
By Lance-Robert, VP Finance, San Diego STC Chapter
Thursday, September 18, chapter President Walter Hanig and I were asked to attend the “Careers in Writing” presentation at UCSD Extension. This presentation was designed to give students and working adults an inside look at the world of technical writing, screenwriting, fiction writing, copyediting, and journalism.
Tania Mayer of UCSD Extension moderated the panel, which consisted of five UCSD Extension staff members and industry leaders. These included our own Region 8 Director-Sponsor Bonni Graham, novelist Nancy Holder, San Diego Union-Tribune journalist David Coddon, copyeditor Laurie Gibson, and screenwriter/director Michael S. Gregory.
Walter and I were asked to attend because of our STC affiliation. Walter told everyone about the STC and the San Diego Chapter, and I gave them some specifics about the meeting location and handed out the same STC brochures I bring to the monthly meetings.
Linda
Bannan of the San Diego Professional Editors’ Network (SD/PEN)
was also asked to represent her organization.
Panelist Michael S. Gregory also represented the Southern California
Writers’ Conference (SCWC).
David Coddon started the discussion by relating his experiences
with the Union-Tribune publishing company. In addition to his other duties,
he writes for the “Night & Day” section on Thursdays and
the “Currents” section on Sundays. What I found most interesting
was his passion for bringing the truth to the reader during unfortunate
times like the September 11 attacks.
Bonni Graham gave an excellent, humor-filled presentation, and
I’m certain she convinced all the attendees that technical writing
doesn’t have to be “really dry and boring.” She spoke
of how important it is to learn about the technology you’re describing
in your documents or online help and not just throw information from the
design engineers directly into the documents. She spoke of how she is
a technology junkie and learned long ago how to keep her VCR from flashing
“12:00” all the time. Learning about the high-tech industry,
she said, was not something the attendees should be afraid of.
Nancy Holder discussed her various novels and short stories and the pros
and cons of dealing with agents and publishers. She started out writing
romance novels but later found that her true passion was writing horror
stories. (They always say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch
out for.) Among her many credits are several episodes of Highlander and
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She encouraged newcomers to the profession to
not give up. Her first novel still has yet to be published, she said,
even though she has long since established a sound reputation.
Laurie Gibson talked in depth about copyediting. She emphasized
how important it is for an organization to maintain a consistent look
and feel throughout their documents. She recounted one time in which the
eyes of a character in a novel she was proofreading inexplicably changed
color as the story progressed. She emphasized that bad editing can make
an organization look bad in the mind of the reader.
Michael S. Gregory also gave an entertaining presentation and talked
about writing for various movies and television shows, including comedies,
dramas, adventure stories, and documentaries. He is currently directing
a new movie called Armageddon Jones. He also spoke at length about the
SCWC. He heartily endorsed the screenwriting software called Final Draft.
Tania thanked everyone for attending and encouraged them to help themselves
to the STC, SD/PEN, and SCWC brochures. She also asked attendees to fill
out the survey forms.
The
next day, Tania e-mailed some of the survey comments she received from
the attendees:
• “Very entertaining and personable and approachable—all
of them!”
• “Bonni Graham should be on the stage!”
• “It was such a pleasure to be in the presence of those who
truly are passionate about what they do!”
• “Meeting writers in multiple fields really showed me how
many opportunities exist for writers.”
• “I will take courses after seeing these marvelous people
who can teach me.”
• “Loved the class, inspiring, helps with direction—want
to attend SCWC.”
• “Fabulous speakers! I thought writers were supposed to be
introverts!”
In case you need them, the Web site for SD/PEN is www.sdpen.com, and the
Web site for SCWC is www.writersconference.com.
