Join us on May 29 at Hurley’s Pub
for our inaugural edition of Blitz Talks!

What’s a Blitz Talk?

Blitz Talks are rapid-fire presentations: 20 images, each for 20 seconds. Blitz Talk speakers present interesting ideas swiftly and concisely in order to connect, learn, and have fun. The rules are simple: The presentations are on a timer, and no bullet points!

Our first Blitz Talks will be at Hurley’s Irish Pub, so come expecting a good time. Drink, eat, chat and network. Bring your business cards! Bring a date!

Presenters

• Jon Druker – on Cartooning and Karma
• John David Hickey – on Creating Taelstrum
• Mary Perchanok – on Developing a Nuit Blanche Project
• Jim Royal – on Photography and Leaning to See
• Others TBA

When and Where

When: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 / 18:30

Where: Hurley’s Irish Pub, 1225 Crescent Street (Google Maps). Ask for the upstairs room.

Please RSVP with us as the bar will need to know how many are attending. Maximum 25 attendees.

Everyone is welcome to this event. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

Order of business:

1) Moved to ratify severance from STC International that was approved by membership vote on 31 January 2012. Motion seconded and approved.

2) Moved to amend chapter bylaws (1st revision December 1990) to remove Article V stating that membership is governed by membership in STC International. Motion seconded and approved, and bylaws are now so amended. The Executive Council recommends that any successor group
continue to amend bylaws as required.

3) Executive Council also recommends that any successor group establish a governing structure at its earliest convenience, and suggests a deadline of Labour Day (3 Sept 2012) for governance to be in place and operating. The Executive Council stands ready to mentor new officers for the rest of calendar year 2012 and will offer guidance as requested. A new PO box key is being made, and PO box keys are available to the successor organization on request.

4) Moved to sign a formal letter to Steve Skojec, Community Affairs Manager at STC International, informing him of the vote to sever all connection with STC. Motion seconded and approved. Letter was signed, and will be transmitted to Mr. Skojec by registered mail or courier service, with return receipt confirming acceptance by STC office.

5) Moved to prepare a final financial report and submit it to successor group. The Secretary/Treasurer will prepare this report. Executive Council members stand ready to provide any and all financial
information to the successor group on request.

Meeting was adjourned by President Gural. This concludes the official business of the organization that was known as STC Montreal.

Respectfully submitted,
Everett T. Larsen
Secretary/Treasurer
Senior Member, STC Montreal (1990-2012)

The name was publicly unveiled on April 24, 2012, at the “Writing for Narration” event held at Allo Inde in Montreal.

President pro tem Andy Gural commented that the name was well received by the audience gathered for the event, and said that the organization is open to suggestions for a slogan or tagline.

The name Ars Communica can mean “the skill or craft of sharing.” The organization will remain centered on technical communication, but with a broader reach to include technical illustrators, instructional designers, user experience designers, e-publishers, e-learning experts, and emerging specialties. The organization will also work toward building a stronger social/networking group for technical communicators in Montreal.

The group is currently working on a formula for membership and pricing, a formal governance structure, new kinds of events, and a new web site.

There will be much more information to come.

Join us on April 24 to find out how to write for the spoken word, as we host “Writing for Narration” by voice artist Katherin Vasilopoulos.

Technical writers don’t fear lengthy sentences or polysyllabic technical terms, nor should they. But what if you need to include breath points? Emphasis? How do you write stage directions?

If you’re planning on writing video or audio scripts for technical products, then this informative and fun evening will help you avoid some of the more obvious mistakes, like writing sentences as long as this one (which include spurious parenthetical comments) and which end with a lengthy word like pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

About Katherin Vasilopoulos

Katherin Vasilopoulos has over 10 years of experience in the medical e-learning, publishing and broadcasting fields. Her voice has appeared on DiscoveryWorld HD television, WGBH Boston (NPR), CBC Montreal, educational DVDs, GPS Apps, online podcasts, and various local and national radio stations. She is an experienced narrator and has encountered plenty of scripts with “land mines.” She’s a writer herself so she’s familiar with many of the pressures we face.

Katherin specializes in medical writing and text adaptation for audio. She is fluent in four languages (English, French, Greek, Spanish).

When and Where

Date: Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Time: 6:30 pm
Location: Allo Inde, 1422 rue Stanley (Google Maps)

Doors open at 6:30. Please RSVP with us, as the restaurant will need to know how many are attending. Maximum 30 attendees.

Everyone is welcome. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

Get your kimonos ready for our traditional Japanese St-Patrick’s Day event.

“Not STC-Montreal” (yes, we’re still working on the name) is having an informal St-Patrick’s Day gathering at Imadake Japanese Pub on Friday, March 16, 2012.

Prizes for best costume! Come one, come all!

When and Where

Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2011
Time: 7:00 pm

Location: Imadake Japanese Pub, 4006 Sainte-Catherine Street West, Montreal (Google Maps)

Doors open at 6:30. Please RSVP with us, as the restaurant will need to know how many are attending. Maximum 25 attendees.

Everyone is welcome. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

Four pre-conference workshops and an evening reception with live entertainment kick off activities on June 1. Opening keynote speaker and award-winning author Charlotte Gray provides an invigorating start on June 2, where 35 varied sessions unfurl over two full days—including everything from editing e-books and mastering plain language, to learning how the brain processes language and discovering the importance of marketing. Most sessions are in English, but some are offered in French.

Saturday evening features the Awards Banquet at the nearby Lord Elgin Hotel, featuring a look at the lighter side of language with the Oops Awards.

On June 3, the conference wraps up with the reflections of a man who truly knows how to bring Canadians together—Canada’s longest-serving Speaker of the House of Commons, Peter Milliken.

Members of the Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation are eligible for EAC member rates to Conference 2012. An early bird discount of $350 is available until April 11 ($290 for student members). After April
11, the prices go up to $430, or $370 for student members. Banquet tickets are $75. Register online at www.editors.ca (the ACR site is www.reviseurs.ca). The conference section provides many more details, including tips on where to eat while in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, where to shop, what sites to see and suggested accommodations.

Discover more at www.editors.ca (www.reviseurs.ca), and on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter (@eac_acr), where the hashtag #eac2012 has the latest on Conference 2012.

Wondering about the impact of e-books on your indexing future? We are pleased to announce that Jan Wright will give the keynote address “E-book Indexes: The Devil Is in the Details.” Jan will bring you up to speed on changes in the publishing industry and the important work of the International Digital Publishing Forum.

During the two-day conference, held on campus at the historic University of Ottawa, visit with friends and widen your network. Speakers include Noeline Bridge on names, Cheryl Landes on the future of indexing, Max McMaster on indexing a new edition of a work, and Marion Soublière on winning Government of Canada contracts. Other speakers offer insights into thesaurus standards, indexing images, and indexing awards.

A banquet and reception will be held in the historic Munross Mansion, home to two organizations, Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute and the restaurant Le Cordon Bleu Signatures. The restaurant’s famous chefs will cater a private four-course dinner. The reception, which celebrates the release of Noeline Bridge’s book on indexing names, is included with the
conference registration; banquet tickets are available for $75. Only 70 tickets are available, so if you plan to attend, register early.

Reasonably priced accommodations are available in residences on campus, including two-bedroom air-conditioned suites for $120 per night, with breakfast. Share with a friend and enjoy a stay for $65 a night, plus taxes.

The full conference fee for ISC/SCI members is $275 before April 11. Members of affiliated indexing organizations, such as ASI, may register at members’ rates. Registration is now open.

Ottawa is a metropolitan destination with a bilingual population that exceeds one million. On the border between Ontario and Quebec, the Capital Region offers historical and national monuments and treasures. See the Van Gogh exhibit at the National Gallery of Canada, or visit one of the more than 30 museums in the area, including the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
If you enjoy outdoor recreation, plan to spend time by the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River, and in nearby Gatineau Park.

For more information, go to www.indexers.ca. Follow us on Twitter @IndexersCanada. Conference hashtag is #iscconf

President Andy Gural and Secretary/Treasurer Everett Larsen (who make up the administrative council) convened on February 22, 2012, and passed the following motions:

• The council ratified the decision to sever ties with STC International, as was approved by the membership in a vote held on on January 31, 2012.
• The chapter bylaws have been amended to remove Article V stating that membership in the local organization is governed by STC rules. The administrative council recommends that any successor group continue to amend bylaws as required.
• The council recommends that any successor group establish a governing structure at its earliest convenience, and suggests a deadline of Labour Day (September 3, 2012) for governance to be in place and operating. Andy and Everett stand ready to mentor new officers for the rest of calendar year 2012 and will offer guidance as requested.
• A new post office box key is being made, and PO box keys will be available to the successor organization on request.
• A registered letter was sent to Steve Skojec (Community Affairs Manager at STC International), informing him of the vote to sever all connection with STC.
• Everett Larsen will prepare a final financial report and submit it to successor group. Everett is prepared to provide any and all financial information to the successor group on request.

This concludes the official business of the organization that was known as STC-Montreal.

If you’ve been reading the comments on this site and on afterstcmontreal.wordpress.com you’ll know that Alan is in town today, and wanted to touch base with us.

This is an informal get-together. Anyone who wishes to join in the discussion is welcome to come. The meetup is at 6:30.

The meeting was called by STC-Montreal President Andy Gural on January 19 in an email announcement to the entire STC-Montreal membership. The initial topic of the meeting was dissolution and closure of the chapter.

At the meeting, Andy and Secretary/Treasurer Everett Larsen presented the issue: The chapter had only two officers, and no volunteers available to replace them for 2012. Volunteers must be STC members in good standing. Without any volunteers to take over at the end of the current term, the chapter could not continue to function.

A formal call was made for volunteers to step forward to run the chapter, but there were no takers.

The issue of dissolution was then discussed for about 90 minutes. Some of the key points were:

• STC-Montreal’s events have always been well-attended; 90 individuals have attended chapter events in the past year, and over 300 people are subscribed to the chapter’s email announcements.
• Most attendees in recent years have not been STC members; members have rarely, if ever, attended local events.
• Several people spoke of their interest and attachment to the local community of technical writers.
• According to the chapter’s bylaws (effective since 1991), dissolution requires approval by a 3/4 vote of the members at a meeting.

A turning point for the meeting occurred when STC Fellow and former STC President Saul Carliner spoke. Saul speculated about the possibility of dissolving the relationship with STC, but not closing the local organization itself.

Saul put forward a motion “to sever the relationship between STC-Montreal and STC International.” This motion was duly seconded by another member, and voted on. All present at the meeting (6 members and 14 non-members) voted unanimously in favour of the motion to sever.

The group resolved that the existing administrative council take steps to enact the resolution to sever, and to ensure that a transition to a new governing structure be accomplished quickly. Several new volunteers stepped forward immediately, and webmaster Jim Royal offered to coordinate their efforts.

Everett Larsen has volunteered to be a mentor for the next secretary/treasurer to ensure that the organization’s finances remain in good order.

STC-Montreal will cease to function as a chapter of STC at the end the month. The organization will continue operating its events, the job bank and workshops under a new name that is yet to be determined.

We’re dead — but it’s a comic book death, where the superhero comes back more powerful, and with a shinier costume.

At our annual chapter business meeting, chaired by former chapter president Manny Gordon, a motion was carried that that the chapter dissolve its relationship with the STC mothership in Virginia, USA.

The motion was voted on by paid-up members after lengthy discussion and conversation, and accepted unanimously.

Our charter goal is to improve the practice and arts of technical communication; the STC was merely a vehicle for that. It’s time to change busses. Or, as I’d argue, jump from the horse and buggy and onto the jet aircraft.

Details to follow in the days to come.

- STC-Montreal President Andy Gural

Long manuals are outdated, ineffective ways to teach people software. The quick reference guide (usually 2 to 6 pages), with strong visuals and a magazine-like layout, is something that end-users, project managers, and just about everyone absolutely loves. Quick reference guides should be a standard deliverable that technical communicators emphasize and prioritize in their work.

Why don’t they? Technical communicators often overlook quick reference guides because these guides require skill with layout and design, as well as talent with illustration to make them appealing. Layout, design, and illustration are often beyond the comfort level of most technical communicators.

This session will provide users with principles of design, some sample layouts they can use, and it will explain how to handle other tricky aspects of quick reference guides, such as translation, content reuse, and interactivity. The webinar will also motivate attendees to jump into this appealing format and start producing these guides with enthusiasm.