Show us that our profession is worth
singing about 

by Debbie Kerr, President

I have often said that if I didn’t have a creative outlet that I would go crazy. For those of you who know me, you are saying to yourselves that I should be doing more creative writing, because I am already a little crazy. Well, let’s just say that I would be even crazier if I didn’t get to do something a little fun, even if it’s writing articles for The Quill.

The importance of creativity

In one of my previous jobs, creativity was so important to me that I volunteered to do the company newsletter on my own time if they would just let me do it. I used to help the person in the Communications Department write some of the articles, and then when she left, there was no one to do the newsletter. My own boss was afraid that it would interfere with my regular workload, but I was so desperate to do something other than describe the internal workings of a PBX that I said if I had to do the newsletter after hours at home, I would do it. It may sound sick, but it was a way of making sure that I had balance between the very technical and the non-technical.

When opportunity knocks

In the March issue of The Quill, Margie indicated that I might drink at the Wine and Cheese meeting and sing our chapter theme song. Since I didn’t drink, and there is no chapter theme song, I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to let you unleash some of your creativity. Why not write lyrics about the technical communication profession instead of limiting it to just a chapter theme song?

How to answer

Send your lyrics to Margie at quill@stc-soc.org. As the entries come in, Margie will publish them in the newsletter (no really). Your entries will give everyone some balance in their lives as they get to read something creative in a world of technical information.

Who knows? If we get enough entries, maybe we can go one step further and have a Canadian Idol experience at our year-end barbeque, and sing these songs. Hey, it could happen...

About Debbie Kerr (President)

In the 20 years that Debbie has been writing documentation, she has worked in a variety of industries: government, retail, software, and insurance. She is currently employed at The Economical Insurance Group in Waterloo, where she has stepped out of her traditional role of writing user guides and help files, and now writes a variety of specifications.

Debbie has been a member of the STC since 1994 and has been a council member for many years. Most recently she was The Quill editor for two years.