December

Orange County STC Newsletter
www.ocstc.org
December 2003
Contents
1
2
EduNotes from B&B:
A Successful Grant
Writing Session
Publication Policies
2
President's Message
3
Next Meeting
3
Editor's Desk
4
Creative Moonlighter
Web Site Review
5
2004 OCSTC
Administrative Council
Positions Available
6
Chapter Contacts
6
Spring 2004 OCSTC
Scholarship—Apply
Now!
Orange Juice:
Membership News
8
9
November Meeting
Review
10 Society Pages
11 OCSTC Employment
Information
11 Grammar Tip
12 Calendar of Events
Vol. 42
No. 11
EduNotes from B&B: A Successful
Grant Writing Session
By Bill Darnall and Brian McCaleb, OCSTC Education Committee Chairs
On a gloomy, smoky day with ashes falling from the sky, the
Education Committee conducted its first grant writing class,
entitled Grant Writing 101, in a classroom at the Mesa Verde United
Methodist Church in Costa Mesa. All 12 seats were filled by
chapter members who wanted to learn more about the grant
writing process and help the Orange County STC chapter develop an
education program that will benefit us all.
Our chapter is fortunate to have dedicated volunteers who are
willing to spend their spare time building the future of the OCSTC.
Among the participants were people with hands-on experience
writing grants and people who said they knew almost nothing
about the topic. The class used Grant Writing for Dummies by Bev
Browning (Wiley, 2001) as a textbook. Despite its dubious title, this
300-page book is a highly regarded treatment of the subject and
contains a balanced mixture of theory and practical advice. Books
and materials for the October 25 class were provided free to
participants because the chapter has already received grant money
from a local foundation to be used for education.
Of course, a one-day class in grant writing does not a grant writer
make. The twelve who participated in the class have agreed to
continue to work together as they study the book, form teams, and
collaborate on grant writing efforts for the chapter. The Education
Committee plans to launch a Web-based collaborative workshop
where our grant writers can share information, post and retrieve
drafts, conduct reviews, and otherwise maximize valuable
volunteer time producing grant applications instead of driving
around the county to attend meetings. We expect to report details
about this innovative work environment in future EduNotes
columns.
What’s Next?
We aren’t yet ready to dig in and start writing grant applications.
Participants first have to finish reading the book. Subsequently,
they will form teams and conduct research. A critical element of the
grant scene is doing good research before writing a single word.
to page 8 >
Publication Policies
President's Message
By Jeff Randolph, OCSTC Chapter President
The TechniScribe is published 11 times a year as a
benefit to the members of the Orange County
Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. The goal of the publication is to reflect the
interests, needs, and objectives of OCSTC
members. The TechniScribe strives to be an
advocate for, and an inspiration to, technical
communicators by keeping them connected to
each other and to opportunities for professional
growth.
Articles published in this newsletter may be
reprinted in other STC publications if credit is
properly given and one copy of the reprint is
sent to the TechniScribe Editor.
Submission Information
The editorial team retains and exercises the right
to edit submitted and requested material for
clarity, length, and appropriateness.
When submitting material please remember to
Include a 25-word biography about
yourself
Send articles in Word format, RTF (Rich-Text
Format), ASCII, or in the body of an e-mail
message
Send material to the editor five weeks prior
to the date it will be published
carried@hotmail.com
Editorial Staff
Managing Editor Carrie Damschroder
Copy Editor Barbara Young
Copy Editor Anne Stratford
Copy Editor & Proofreader Rosemary Hulce
Proofreader Steve Blossom
Web Version Jeff Randolph
Monthly Advertising Rates
¼ page $40
1
/3
page $45
We are in our second
month of our “Season
of Giving” for the
Friendship House in
Laguna Beach. We
started the program
last year and it was a
great success. Janet
Larkley, executive
director of the shelter,
spoke briefly at our
October meeting. She
thanked us for our efforts last year, and based on
how well received they were, encouraged us to
donate again this year. Last year, we gave gift bags
of toiletries and other essentials to the 29 occupants
of the shelter along with a turkey, and the rest as
cash for the shelter to buy day passes or monthly
passes from the Orange County Transportation
Authority (OCTA).
Janet explained the mission of the facility: to provide
a short-term, positive atmosphere that allows those
who became homeless, generally for the first time in
their lives, to get back on their feet. The shelter
addresses issues of why the persons were in the
situation they were, and leads them back to living
independent lives once again. In addition to their
facility in Laguna Beach, Friendship Shelter operates
additional longer-term facilities (for 6-month or
1-year periods) in San Clemente.
If you want to give—remember, this is a taxdeductible, charitable donation—please send a check
payable to OCSTC, and in the memo section write
“Season of Giving.” Send the donation to
OCSTC Season of Giving
c/o Elaine Randolph
22181 Lantern Lane
Lake Forest, CA 92630-4316
We will send you a receipt for your donation. If you
want to help, please contact Elaine Randolph at
elaine.randolph@unisys.com or 949.380.6128.
½ page $60
Full page $80
Subscriptions
$10/year to members of other STC chapters
Printer
Unisys Corporation, MissionViejo, CA
2 TechniScribe December 2003
By this time you should have received your STC
renewal dues notice, either by e-mail or by snail
mail. I went to the STC Web site and painlessly
opened up my wallet and paid online. I hope you
will do so, as well. If you renew by February 28,
2004, you can vote in the STC-wide election. Among
other items, we will be voting for a successor to
Bonni Graham, our current Director-Sponsor for
Region 8, whose term is expiring.
to page 4 >
Next Meeting
Editor’s Desk
By Carrie Damschroder, TechniScribe Managing Editor
You Are the Expert—Act Like It!
Many of you have
probably recently
exclaimed, “I can’t
believe it’s December
already!” or “The
holidays have come too
quickly!” or “Another
year is almost over—oh
no!” The next few weeks
Speaker: Lance Gelein
When: Tuesday, December 16, 2003, 6:00–9:00 P.M.
Where: Wyndham Garden Hotel
3350 Avenue of the Arts
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714.751.5100
Cost:
Members with reservations $21
Students with reservations $16
Nonmembers with reservations $23
Walk-ins or those registering after
deadline $31
No-shows billed $11
Reservations
Reservations are due by 9:00 P.M., Monday,
December 15, 2003.
Registration Options
Register at www.ocstc.org/dinres.asp
Call Carolyn Romano at 714.894.9221 and leave
your name, membership status, and phone
number.
Directions to the Wyndham Garden Hotel
Coming from north and central Orange County
Southbound on I-405, exit at Bristol Blvd. Turn left
onto Bristol Blvd. Turn right onto Anton, left onto
Avenue of the Arts. Turn right into the Wyndham
parking lot.
Please park in the Wyndham Garden Hotel parking
structure.
Coming from southern Orange County
Northbound on I-405, exit at Bristol Blvd. Turn right
onto Bristol Blvd. Turn right onto Anton, left onto
Avenue of the Arts. Turn right into the Wyndham
parking lot.
Please park in the Wyndham Garden Hotel parking
structure.
will seem to pass even more quickly than the
previous ones and soon 2003 will be over. While
there are still a few weeks left in 2003, pause from
your busy year-end tasks to rekindle old holiday
traditions or start new ones. Some simple, relaxing
activities that you can participate in alone or with
your children include watching favorite holiday
movies and reading classic holiday stories (both
activities we writers enjoy a lot!).
Instead of starting that new mystery novel or
biography, pick up a classic holiday story such as
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Polar Bear Express by Edward Packard
Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus by Francis Church
Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
A Christmas Treasury edited by Jack Newcombe
After a busy day shopping and cooking, watch one
(or two!) of the following movies:
It’s a Wonderful Life
White Christmas
Miracle on 34th Street
A Muppet Christmas Carol
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
Frosty the Snowman
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Share your favorite holiday movies and books with
friends. Consider hosting a holiday movie review or
holiday book club. Take time to not only use your
technical and creative skills this month—but to enjoy
them. This season of friendship, joy, and surprise
will soon be over with—along with 2003—so be sure
to fully experience these next few weeks instead of
rushing through them.
Live each season as it passes; breathe air, drink the drink,
taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of
each. Let them be your only diet drink and botanical
medicines. —Henry David Thoreau
Happy Holidays!
2003 December TechniScribe 3
< President's Message from page 2
Creative Moonlighter
Web Site Review
Yes, you will notice the dues have increased, and
that might be a hardship. For some, your employer
might no longer pay your STC dues. But the weekly
cost of STC membership is roughly equal to one
drink at Starbucks. So skip the latté and bank a
couple of bucks for STC dues! It’s that easy.
By Mark Gaham, OCSTC Member
There is a hot new Web site called
www.creativemoonlighter.com that has been
bringing together talented writers with contract job
opportunities. I stumbled upon this site while
surfing the Web and being at one with nature
(electronic nature?). Anyway, there are many sites
out there, but this one has promise, and I will go out
on a limb and say I believe in several years it will be
very well known within the writing community.
OCSTC and surrounding STC chapters offer a
number of opportunities for you to flourish and
prosper. In addition, STC offers opportunities,
including but not limited to the annual conference,
telephone seminars, and scholarships. In my
introduction at chapter meetings I say, “OCSTC
offers networking, personal and professional
development, and employment opportunities for
those in technical communication and allied
professions.” The key word is opportunity.
The tight job market, as Andrea Ames, De Murr,
John Hall, and William Horton said at recent chapter
meetings, offers the opportunity to expand our
educational horizons and also requires us to think
like consultants. We cannot continue to pursue
business as usual. We can either seize the
opportunities and expand our educational horizons
or be faced with a tougher job search. For example,
on our OCSTC Web site, many jobs go begging for
months, while a job with the standard
documentation specialist profile from the mid-tolate-90s (5 years experience, know FrameMaker and
RoboHELP, write software user documentation…)
receives over 600 applicants in less than three days.
For members, in addition to the standard fare, you
have the ability to post your résumé online at the
OCSTC Web site. Does it work? Yes. The most recent
success story is Victory Crayne’s, who said that an
employer called her and asked her to come in for an
interview because they saw and reviewed her
résumé.
STC is a volunteer organization where the
volunteers provide the lifeblood. Different people
receive different benefits from STC. Some receive
invaluable information from attending chapter
meetings. Others, like myself, have received
employment opportunities because of volunteer
work on behalf of STC. Ultimately, the more you put
in, the more you win.
So why all the hype about one Web site that I am
proclaiming to be a "diamond in the rough" among
many “scamsites” out there? This site has technical
writing jobs—real, contract technical writing jobs—as
well as other creative job assignments that pay real
money.
Before I go into how you can apply and how you get
paid, here is a list of the jobs I found posted on the
site:
Job Description Rate/HourEstimated
Grant Writer
$25–$40
Proposal Writer
$25–$40
Corporate Identity
Materials
$25–$40
Manual Writing
$15–$24
Computer Course Training
Manual
$25–$40
Corporate Web site
Web site Developer
Book Illustrator
$8–$14
Marketing Materials
$15–$24
Graphic Artist
$8–$14
News Articles
$25–$40
Brochure Design
$15–$24
Total Value
$5,000
$3,000
$300
Are you excited yet? This was just one day of
searching. So now you’re saying, “How do I get
started and what is the cost?” Basic membership is
free. You can post your résumé, search for jobs, bid
on projects that match your expertise, and receive
e-mail alerts when employers invite you to bid.
There is a 10 percent project transaction fee charged
by www.creativemoonlighter.com once the job is
finished and you are paid.
The Choice-Preferred membership is only $149.95
per year. This allows you instant bidding with a 72hour bidding advantage over basic members and the
project transaction fee is only 5 percent. You can also
contact employers directly with this membership
to page 9 >
4 TechniScribe December 2003
2004 OCSTC
Administrative Council
Positions Available
By Mary Ann Howell, OCSTC Nominating
Committee Chair
Here’s your chance to get great job experience, add
to your professional credentials, network with
movers and shakers, make good friends—and eat
free pizza!
This is the time of the year when the Nominating
Committee gathers names to consider for next year’s
administrative council elections. Please consider
giving back to the OCSTC chapter by serving for the
coming year. The experience you gain is the big
payback, and an STC position of responsibility looks
great on your résumé.
The Nominating Committee’s goal is to have at least
two candidates (maximum of three) running for each
position. If you are good at organizing and keeping
track of wandering details, please consider sending
in your name. Or if you know of someone who
would be a good fit, surprise him or her and send in
his or her name.
You only need to commit to serve for one year and
attend monthly administrative council meetings.
These meetings are held at a time and place that
works best for everyone. Your term would begin in
June 2004. The outgoing council members are happy
to encourage, train, and advise you. No experience is
required.
A brief summary of the administrative council
positions is listed below. For more detailed
descriptions, go to www.ocstc.org/bylaws.asp.
Secretary
Organizes monthly administrative council meetings,
prepares the agenda, and keeps the minutes. The
secretary also writes chapter correspondence and
maintains the non-financial records.
Treasurer
Pays OCSTC bills, takes care of the chapter checking
accounts, presents monthly statements at the
administrative council meetings, and presents a
yearly financial statement to the chapter. Once a year
the treasurer submits an end-of-year chapter
financial report to the chapter audit committee and
the STC treasurer.
In addition to the administrative council positions
listed above, there are two Nominating Committee
member openings. In this position, members serve
for two years.
Nominating Committee Member
Selects candidates for chapter offices and conducts
the annual membership election.
Deadlines
January 1: Deadline for submitting names for
consideration by the Nominating Committee.
Although this date is the deadline, please submit
nominations as soon as possible.
February 1: Nominating Committee announces
candidates
President
Executive administrator; responsible for all chapter
operations.
March: Online voting
First Vice President, Programs
Assumes the duties of the president if the president
is absent; plans monthly meetings.
June: Term begins for all newly elected
administrative council positions (except Treasurer)
Second Vice President, Membership
Recruits and welcomes new members and provides
the council and the STC office with membership
data.
Early April: Election results announced
July: Treasurer’s term starts
Interested? Contact any Nominating Committee
member:
Bruce Alexander (balexander@monauto.com)
Jean Gabriel (jean@gabe.com)
Mary Ann Howell (maryann@hikaripub.com)
Kathey Schuster (wwwords@mindspring.com)
2003 December TechniScribe 5
Chapter Contacts
Spring 2004 OCSTC
Scholarship—Apply Now!
OCSTC
P.O. Box 28751
Santa Ana, CA 92799-8751
Chapter Fax: 949.830.7585
Web site: http://www.ocstc.org
By Kathey Schuster, OCSTC Scholarship Chair
OCSTC awards up to $500 to the winner or winners of
its annual student competition. The contest is open to
both Los Angeles and Orange County area college
students who are enrolled Fall 2003 and/or Spring 2004
in a degree or certificate program to prepare for a career
in technical communication.
Administrative Council
Jeff Randolph, President
erandolp@ix.netcom.com
Don Pierstorff, Immediate Past President
English@juno.com
Jack Molisani, 1st VP Programs
jackm@prospring.net
Adrienne Escoe, 2nd VP Membership
aescoe@escoebliss.com
Julie Dotson, Treasurer
j.dotson@wanderingworker.com
Suzanne Madison, Secretary
smadison@madisonarts.com
Carrie Damschroder, TechniScribe Editor
carried@hotmail.com
Benefits
Some of the benefits of entering the contest are
Money
Award for portfolio/résumé
Visibility among area employers
Critique by professionals
Recognition and dinner at the OCSTC Awards
Banquet
How to Apply
Submit the scholarship application form, a sample of
your work, and other information according to the
competition rules. Request the entry form and submittal
rules from the Scholarship Committee chair, Kathey
Schuster, by e-mail at wwwords@mindspring.com.
Submit applications by March 23, 2004.
Elaine Randolph, Public Relations
writetrack@compuserve.com
Bill Darnall, Education
darnall@sbcglobal.net
Brian McCaleb, Education
bem@atdial.net
Mary Ann Howell, Nominating Committee
maryann@hikaripub.com
Kathey Schuster, Nominating Committee
wwwords@mindspring.com
Jean Gabriel, Nominating Committee
jean@gabe.org
Bruce Alexander, Nominating Committee
balexander@monauto.com
Carolyn Romano, Facilities
lmr15551@aol.com
Kathey Schuster, Scholarships
wwwords@mindspring.com
Bonni Graham, Region 8 Director-Sponsor
bgraham@manuallabour.com
Mary Ann Howell, Employment Manager
maryann@hikaripub.com
6 TechniScribe December 2003
STC Scholarship Applications Available
Each year, STC offers scholarships to full-time
graduate and undergraduate students pursing
careers in technical communication.
Four awards of $1,000 each will be granted for the
academic year 2004–2005. Application deadline is
February 16, 2004.
Application forms and instructions are available
from the STC office:
901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904
Arlington, CA 22203-1822
703.522.4114
www.stc.org
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Orange Juice:
Membership News
By Adrienne Escoe, OCSTC 2nd VP Membership
OCSTC Members: 364
STC Members: 19,879
We probably won’t see a lot of OCSTC new member
Michael Harnish for a while. A student at Orange
Coast College, Mike is taking 30 units of credit and
working full time as a machinist. After he completes
his AA degree this year, he plans to transfer next fall
to CSULB to major in English, specializing in
composition and literacy, and to earn the Technical
and Professional Writing certificate. Mike commutes
from his home in Costa Mesa.
You could say that Mike got ‘close’ to writing
working on the presses at the Los Angeles Times,
where he was inspired to go back to school. He says,
“School is wonderful. I can’t think of one class that
has bored me.” Mike is another student who has
launched a writing career studying under OCSTC
member Don Piersdorff.
Shannon Clark, a consultant for translation and
localization, recently joined OCSTC. Shannon knows
that although she has no experience in technical
writing, for favorable translation quality, speed,
ease, and cost, she needs to put herself on the same
level as content developers and understand their
processes, methods, and tools.
Shannon works for Boston-based ArchiText, Inc.
where she attended Boston Chapter STC meetings
while she lived in the area. She also participated in a
few International Technical Communication SIG
meetings.
Receiving a master’s degree in Translation (French to
English) from the Monterey Institute of International
Studies and a bachelor’s degree in French from the
Universite de Lyon in Lyon, Shannon also studied in
Paris at the L’Institut Superieur de Traduction et
d’Interpretation.
She collects cookbooks—what else?! She has over
200 cookbooks in English and French. But you can
ask Shannon anything about football, basketball, or
baseball. She is a self-proclaimed sports fanatic. And
when you greet Shannon at an OCSTC dinner
meeting, first say, “Allo,” and then “What’s for le
diner?”
Greeters
Thank you Mary Ann Howell and Teresita del Sol for
greeting members and guests at the October OCSTC
dinner meeting. Greeting is a fun way to network
and meet new people. Please contact me to volunteer
for a 2004 meeting. Call Adrienne Escoe at
714.505.0248 or send an e-mail message to
aescoe@escoebliss.com.
< EduNotes from B&B from page 1
We know that there is money available to support
education initiatives like ours. The key to success is
matching our needs and expected results to the
institutional objectives of grantors. Fortunately, a lot
of the information we need is publicly available, so
we don’t all need to be detectives to accomplish our
goals.
A Homework Assignment for You
A successful effort also depends on knowing what
we have to offer a grantor and having a compelling,
persuasive argument that makes us the best choice
for funding. Research is important here, too. What
value does our profession provide to society? How
does Orange County, or California, or even the
world benefit from having more and better-educated
technical communicators in the marketplace? Why
are we important in the grand scheme of things?
These may sound like rhetorical questions or topics
for debate, but to succeed in grant writing, our team
must make a convincing case that what we do as
individuals and what we do as a profession really
matters. We will answer these questions and more in
the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you wish to
weigh in on these value assessments with lofty
philosophy or gritty realism, we would like to hear
from you.
Your homework assignment, if you choose to accept
it, is this: describe the value proposition of the
profession and the STC. What social need do we
fulfill? Who benefits, in what ways, and by how
much? How would the world be different if we did
not do what we do every day?
Bill (darnall@sbcglobal.net) and Brian
(mccalebb@acm.org) await your response.
8 TechniScribe December 2003
< Creative Moonlighter Web Site Review from page 4
level. They also have a Choice-Premium
membership for $249.95 per year. This provides you
with two unique profiles, 16 guaranteed project
leads and a 5 percent project transaction fee.
A little history about the company. It was launched
in August of 2000 with the mission of connecting top
freelance and contract talent both locally and
globally. The company is based in Pittsburgh, PA.
They have over 280,000 professional writers signed
up on their site and they have over 20,000
employers. Some of these employers are nothing to
laugh at either: Del Taco, Delta Education, Fujitsu,
McGraw Hill, and others.
The site is self-explanatory. You post your profile by
stepping through a series of questions on your skills
and talents. You then select your membership level.
Then just search for jobs and bid on those projects
that match your skills. You’ll also receive e-mail
alerts when employers invite you to bid on projects.
If you are selected to do the job and you perform the
job, you will get paid through the site’s SafePay
system and you will receive feedback on your work.
The company will even keep track of your 1099 work
and send you a total of money earned through the
site every January for tax purposes. They will ask
you to fill out, sign, and fax back a W-9 form one
time for their records, but once that is done you are
not involved in the payment transaction. The
employer will pay through SafePay either by check
or credit card.
Mark lives in Los Angeles and works for Dawson
Company in Altadena as an Outside Sales Engineer. He is
currently finishing the spec screenplay, “Cadet.” Mark
has been a member of OCSTC for almost one year and has
written two previous articles for the TechniScribe.
November Meeting Review
By Clive Soden, OCSTC Member
Dr. Harold Stolovitch gave the OCSTC an
entertaining presentation at November’s meeting.
The subject was Telling Ain’t Training. It was not
what you would call your normal, everyday
presentation. He led members in exercises
throughout the presentation, and at the end gave the
audience a final exam.
As the title of the presentation suggests, people learn
more from experience rather than what others tell
them. This phenomenon is because learning is the
capacity to adapt to changing conditions. “Telling
does not work,” Dr. Stolovitch said. Telling is a oneway means for transmitting information. But
information that is “told” is meaningless until the
person receiving it uses it. On the other hand,
training organizes the information and the person
who receives it to produce the change that results in
learning.
Dr. Stolovitch said that learning is difficult if a topic
is presented in a way that is abstract, novel, or
complex. Therefore, we must change
Abstract items into something concrete
Novelty items into something familiar
Complex items into something simple
According to Dr Stolovitch, there are six principles
for transforming telling to training:
The more learners do—that is meaningful to
them—the more they learn and the better they
feel about it.
If you feel competent and confident about
something you learned, you’ll most likely use it.
Focus on the performance and don’t dwell on the
details. Provide learners with the essential
information and include details in reference
documentation.
The main job of the trainer is to organize
information for the learner. You don’t have to
transmit a lot of information to learners; it is
more important to organize information for easy
storage, perception, and recall.
Challenge increases motivation and thus
performance; however, too much challenge can
create anxiety and reduce performance.
Link new learning to prior knowledge. Use
analogies, mnemonics, and familiar examples.
You can visit Dr. Stolovitch’s Web site at
www.hsa-lps.com. You can contact Clive at
soden@sbcglobal.net.
2003 December TechniScribe 9
Society Pages
STC Mission Statement
Creating and supporting a forum for communities
of practice in the profession of technical
communication.
Positioning Statement
STC helps you design effective communication for
a technical world through information sharing and
industry leadership.
The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is
the world’s largest organization for technical
communicators. Its more than 20,000 members
include writers, editors, illustrators, printers,
publishers, photographers, educators, and students.
Dues are $140 per year. Membership is open to
anyone engaged in some phase of technical communication, interested in the arts and sciences of
technical communication, and in allied arts and
sciences.
Society for Technical Communication
901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904
Arlington, VA 22203-1822
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10 TechniScribe December 2003
Society Pages
OCSTC Employment Information
Grammar Tip: Dangling Modifiers
Our job listing is entirely online at the OCSTC Web
site, and the pages are updated as jobs are submitted.
Dangling modifiers are primarily verbal phrases
that do not modify any particular words or
phrases in the sentence. Although any misplaced
word, phrase, or clause can be said to dangle,
words in the sentence can be rearranged, or words
can be added, to make the meaning clear.
Staff Jobs
www.ocstc.org/employme.asp
Contract Jobs
www.ocstc.org/contractme.asp
If you have an inquiry or a job to post, e-mail Mary
Ann Howell at maryann@hikaripub.com.
A limited number of printed copies of the OCSTC
Web site listings are available at monthly chapter
meetings.
Society Level Job Listings
STC maintains job listings on the Internet. You can
download the listings from the STC Web site at
www.stc.org/jobsdatabase.asp
If you do not already receive e-mail announcements
of upcoming meetings, visit http://lists.stc.org/cgibin/lyris.pl?enter=stcocc-L and click Join. This list is
not spam and will only send out monthly meeting
and other STC-related announcements.
Dangling Participial Phrases Should be Revised
Dangling: Tuning the television to CNN, the State of
the Union speech reached millions of voters. [no
clear word for Tuning the television to refer to]
Revised: Tuning the television to CNN, millions of
voters listened to the State of the Union speech.
[referent supplied—millions]
Placed after the main independent clause, the
participial phrase in the revision below refers to
the subject.
Dangling: The afternoon passed very pleasantly,
lounging in the shade and reminiscing about our
childhood. [An afternoon cannot lounge or
reminisce.]
Revised: We passed the afternoon very pleasantly,
lounging in the shade and reminiscing about our
childhood. [subject supplied]
Excerpt from Hodges' Harbrace Handbook, 14th
Edition, p. 325.
Colophon
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2003 December TechniScribe 11
Calendar of Events
December 2 OCSTC Administrative Council Meeting, 6:00 P.M., ProSpring Inc.
December 9 LASTC Meeting, 6:00 P.M., Ramada Plaza Hotel, Culver City
December 10 STC Telephone Seminar, "Adding Panache to Your Procedures," 10–11:30 A.M.
December 10 San Diego STC Meeting, 5:30 P.M., Red Lion Hanalei, Mission Valley
December 16 OCSTC Chapter Meeting, 6:00 P.M., Wyndham Garden Hotel, Costa Mesa
December 18 Inland Empire STC Meeting, 6:30 P.M., Marriott Inn, Riverside
OCSTC December Meeting Topic: You Are The Expert, Act Like It!
Have you ever wondered why you don’t get recognized for your efforts? Or why you
are always looked at as “overhead” instead of a vital part of the process? We will focus
on ways you can start your new year off right with a new attitude.
This session focuses on the technical communicator—a how-to on becoming the
authority and expert to clients and employers.
The presentation will cover how to make a great first impression, speak and
communicate with authority, use effective body language, dress to impress, act in
meetings, gain recognition, move up the corporate ladder, and become known as the
expert. It includes self-tests and demonstrations to show how you can become the authority and expert
you need to be.
Lance Gelein, STC Past President, is an international speaker who has been a technical communicator for
over 20 years. He is currently involved in technical and marketing communication, usability testing, Web
site development, project management, and change management. His list of clients is a who’s who in
industry including Medtronic, McKesson, Abgenix, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Palm Inc., Kaiser
Permanente, Apple Computer, and Pacific Bell.
OCSTC Mailing Address
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