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Subject:Another tech writer is born From:John David Hickey <jdavid -at- FARABI -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 11 Aug 1998 16:42:23 -0400
Greetings!
> I was born in a little log cabin that I built with my own hands.(Frank
Reuven)
I was born about five minutes later in a little log cabin right next to this
guy. He built it for me while I changed his diapers, programmed his VCR, and
fought off grizzly bears with a spiral notebook.
When I was a young whelp with a state-of-the-art XT, I couldn't afford to
buy the software that went with it. So I had to borrow the software from
other people, and this meant I had to learn how the program worked with
little or no documentation.
I enrolled in Languages and Lit. in College (much to my mother's dismay
since she was determined to have a pharmacist/doctor/lawyer in the family.
"What are you going to do with an ENGLISH DEGREE f'God's sakes!") and
enrolled myself in a Professional Writing program at the Universite de
Sherbrooke (Quebec)("What are you going to do with an BA IN ENGLISH f'God's
sakes!"). The program covered 4 types of writing (journalism, copywriting,
translation, and technical writer) and was cooperative, which meant I could
do 3 paid work-terms of four months each. I was determine to be a
journalist.
I soon realized that I didn't like journalism that much. What bothered me
the most was the "today's news, tomorrow's fish-wrap" reality. I want to
write something that people would find useful and had a longer half-life of
a newspaper.
When it came time for my first work-term, the only work-term that looked
halfway appealing was in Ottawa for Transport Canada (Federal Government).
It involved writing a user's guide for a CICS database system. I took it,
returned for the next 2 work-terms, and never looked back. I had found my
calling.
I don't know if you would call that "falling into the profession by
accident". But if so, it was the best hit-and-run accident I've ever had.
--
Be seeing you,
Dave
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jdavid -at- farabi -dot- com
Lone "Documentation Boy" at Farabi Technology Corp.
Montreal, Quebec
4000+ readers? I Am Drunk With Power! <maniacal laughter>
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