Member Interview: Margaret Shaw

Written by Frances Peck; copy edited by Karen Barry

Margaret ShawMargaret Shaw is a Coquitlam-based writer and editor of mostly scientific and technical material, ranging from manuals and books, to reports and procedures. Besides EAC, she belongs to Plain Language Association International and the Society for Technical Communication. She holds EAC certifications in structural and stylistic editing and copy editing.

You’re kind of an earth girl, Margaret. Your B.Sc. was half in geology and your M.Sc. was in earth sciences and hydrogeology. What (on earth) led you to editing and writing?

I suppose I came full circle. I wrote my first book in Grade 1, at my teacher’s request. It was called In the Hospital and was a detailed account of having my tonsils out. It was bound with green construction paper folded in two and stapled.

I consider my dad, who was a chemist, to be my first and most important writing teacher, even though he never knowingly taught me anything about writing. He has always been a great natural writer and fantastic at explaining the essence of things simply. My mum, who was a nurse, was the one I asked about spelling. I remember how pleased she seemed as she spelled out words.

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Event Review: Transcription, Captioning, and Subtitling: An Introduction for Editors

Written by Amy Haagsma; copy edited by Karen Barry

Recap of EAC-BC’s branch meeting on April 15, 2015.

Last month, Kelly Maxwell spoke to EAC members and guests about the fascinating world of transcription, captioning, and subtitling. Kelly is co-owner and co-founder of Vancouver-based Line 21 Media Services, which provides services to the television and film industry. Line 21 works primarily with post-production coordinators, who shepherd television shows and movies through editing, colour correction, and distribution.

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Event Review: Writers on Editors: An Evening of Eavesdropping

Written by Amy Haagsma; copy edited by Meagan Kus

Recap of EAC-BC’s branch meeting on March 18, 2015.

On March 18, EAC-BC hosted authors Margo Bates and Daniel Francis for a panel discussion about working with editors. Jenny Lee, a writer, editor, and digital journalist with the Vancouver Sun, moderated, adding details of her own experience and encouraging questions from the audience.

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Profile of an Aspiring Editor: Interview with Reg Rozee

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Written by Stephanie Warner; copy edited by Meagan Kus

Navy man, kung fu expert, Dungeons & Dragons player, musician, and movie extra! Meet Reg Rozee, editing student.

Reg is working toward an Editing certificate through SFU’s Writing and Communications program. He retired from the Canadian navy in spring 2014 and moved to Vancouver.

We met in a sunny Caffé Artigiano on Main Street. Unfortunately, Vancouver’s early spring had brought on a bad case of allergies. In spite of this, Reg enthusiastically talked about his naval career and his love of words. Sipping a large mocha helped his sore throat.

You’ve had a varied career path. Tell me about some of the stops along the way.

My first real career was the army. I’d just turned 20 and went to basic training. I was a radio operator and was posted to what was then called the Special Service Force. I spent four years there, and I did a UN tour in Iraq in 1988. Continue reading →

May 20, 2015: Year-End Wine and Cheese—and Elections!

What: EAC-BC monthly meeting
When: Wednesday, May 20, 2015, 7:00–9:00 pm
Where: Welch Room, 4th floor, YWCA Health + Fitness Centre, 535 Hornby Street, Vancouver | map
Cost: Members and non-members attend free, but must check in at the door.

Our 2014–15 season is drawing to a close, and it’s time to celebrate summer! Join us for wine, Murchie’s Editors’ Blend tea, snacks, and good conversation with fellow editors.

We’ll also be choosing our new executive council for the 2015–16 season. If you’re looking to get more involved with EAC, consider joining the executive. Positions are open to all members regardless of experience or length of membership. Please contact Peter Moskos at bcpastchair@editors.ca if you’re interested.

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Confessions of a 24/7 Editor

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Written by Eric Damer; copy edited by Meagan Kus

Like many people who find themselves working as an editor, I grew up in a household of word enthusiasts. My father, an English teacher, methodically circled spelling and grammar errors in the local newspaper or identified errors in environmental print, but he also loved puns, spoonerisms, double-entendres, and wordplay of all sorts. Well before I turned to editing as a line of work, I knew the value of saying what you meant, and meaning what you said—unless you had a joke to tell. Now, it seems, I have difficulty turning off my error-checker for the sake of a chuckle.

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Event Review: Getting the Message Across: Clear Writing Tips with Frances Peck

Written by Amy Haagsma; copy edited by Karen Barry

Review of seminar Getting the Message Across: Clear Writing Tips with Frances Peck (offered by EAC-BC on March 19, 2015).

Frances Peck is a writer, Honorary Certified Professional Editor, and long-time EAC member and volunteer. She has taught at the University of Ottawa, Douglas College, SFU, and UBC; presented seminars for EAC branches across Canada; and delivered training for a number of government and private-sector organizations.

One of Frances’ specialties is editing and rewriting for clarity, making her the perfect choice to teach EAC-BC’s recent half-day seminar, Getting the Message Across: Clear Writing Tips. The seminar focused on techniques to improve clarity in workplace and public documents to better communicate the intended message.

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Event Review: Eight-Step Editing

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Written by Amy Haagsma; copy edited by Joanne King

Review of seminar Eight-Step Editing with Jim Taylor (offered by EAC-BC on February 21, 2015).

Jim Taylor has been a writer and editor since 1958. In 1971, he began teaching editing to business executives, using many of the concepts that would later become Eight-Step Editing. A casual mention of his process caught the attention of his EAC colleagues, and he was encouraged to develop it into a seminar. Jim confessed that, when first asked about the steps he used, he didn’t have a number in mind but surmised that it must be “about eight.”

In the spring of 1984, Jim officially rolled out Eight-Step Editing for EAC. Over the years, his seminar has achieved an almost-legendary status. Although Jim retired in 2007, he has graciously taught the seminar for EAC-BC a number of times since then.

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April 15, 2015: Transcription, Captioning, and Subtitling: An Introduction for Editors

What: EAC-BC monthly meeting
When: Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 7:00–9:00 pm
Where: Welch Room, 4th floor, YWCA Health + Fitness Centre, 535 Hornby Street, Vancouver | map
Cost: Free for EAC members; $10 for non-members; $5 for students with valid ID. Registration at the door.

Transcription, captioning, and subtitling are challenging and interesting areas of work for editors, from both process and service-delivery perspectives. To do this work, an editor needs responsive thinking skills, a full editor’s toolkit, and the ability to break down a job into its constituent parts…and then to recombine the parts to best represent how the text is performed. Please bring your questions!

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Event Review: Language Detectives: Part II

Written by Stephanie Warner; copy edited by Meagan Kus

Recap of EAC-BC’s branch meeting on February 18, 2015.

I’m a fan of British murder mysteries and police procedurals, so it was a thrill for me to attend a talk by Dr. Lorna Fadden, a real-life language detective. Dr. Fadden is an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University, where she teaches introductory linguistics courses. She also researches in the following areas:

  • Canadian varieties of English and how language manifests online
  • discourse analysis (specifically, police interviews and internet luring)

Her website and SFU profile give detailed information on her research.

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