Gotta Have Style
When I was in journalism school, in the mid to late 80s, we were taught to write in a style that conformed to what Canadian newspapers were using. Naturally, that was Canadian Press (CP) style. Every student in the program required a copy of the CP Stylebook and we were expected to know it. In first year, we were actually quizzed on our knowledge of it, and I made it a priority to know it from cover to cover. When I wrote my first novel, JT , I applied CP style to it. In 1999, when I began my career as a technical writer, my knowledge of CP style helped a bit, but there were other style guidelines I had to learn. First and foremost, I became familiar with the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications ( MSTP ) but at Corel Corporation, where I was working, had its own style—tightly based on the Microsoft style guide but with a few variations. I memorized them, both. In 2005, when I was hired at PCI Geomatics, I was taken on not only as an editor, I was tasked with ...
