Five Questions About Being a Writer: What an Inquiring Young Mind Wants to Know
A couple of days ago, I got an email from a creative writing major who had a few questions about being a writer. I’m not sure whether this college freshman has an assignment to do or parents who want to know what she’s going to do with a creative writing major. Whatever the case, I thought it might be fun to share the questions, as well as the answers I’d like to give her.
I say “like to give her” because I’m afraid that if I’m too realistic with my advice, I’ll sound too pessimistic. And far be it from me to rain on anyone’s aspirations, especially not a young person’s.
But as anyone who has tried to make a living as a writer knows, it’s not exactly a cake walk to make ends meet, especially if you want to be a novelist. That’s why many authors have “day jobs.” Even J.K. Rowling had to hold down a second job while she wrote the first Harry Potter. It took her five years to write the book, much of it at a cafe in Edinburgh, Scotland. And while café writing may sound romantic to a college kid, the main reason Rowling wrote there was far more realistic. As a newly-single mom, if Rowling wanted to write, she had to get her baby daughter to sleep. And one surefire path to snoozedom was to walk to a café, where Rowling would park the stroller next to her and hope for the best.
So, without further ado, here are the questions, verbatim, from the creative writing major: 1) A general job description and specific responsibilities of a writer, 2) What is the job location/environment?, 3) What are some special competencies required (computer, language, etc.)?, 4) What is your typical schedule (hours per week)?, 5) Any advice for a prospective writer?
Regarding question #1, wow! Can you think of a general job description and special responsibilities of a writer? I don’t know if there is one! There are so many kinds of jobs for writers (good news, at least!), each with its own responsibilities – though I’m sure the top one on the list would be to come up with words in some form or other!
At the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, one of the best J-schools in the country, the different types of career “tracks” journalism students can take has grown from seven to eighteen in just the past couple of years as the types of jobs requiring wordsmiths have expanded from print to broadcast to digital. (That’s good news, too!)
As for question #2, the job location/environment for a writer is more varied than ever before, from working in your slippers from home to dressing in corporate attire and commuting to wherever it is your job is located. Writers can live – and work – anywhere that there is Internet access, or at least a post office.
As far as special competencies involved (question 3), computer literacy is a must, but so is language proficiency. Writers need to be able to write — and write well. They’re confident enough in their grasp of grammar to know when it’s okay to bend the rules. And although stellar spelling isn’t required to be a writer, it sure doesn’t hurt. We all know that relying on spell check to catch errors doesn’t always end well. Consulting a dictionary makes more sense, plus there’s an app for that. Probably many apps.
Besides being a writing juggernaut, anyone who wants to make it as a writer needs to be able to edit, revise, and take direction from whomever it is they’re writing for, whether it’s an editor, a creative director, or a client. The hard shell required to withstand rejection, criticism, and countless revisions comes with experience, but it’s never too early to learn that sometimes, the other person is wrong, but sometimes they’re right. Either way, if they’re the ones writing the check, you have a choice. You can bite your tongue or bite the hand that feeds you. It just depends on how hungry you are.
On to question #4, the typical schedule of a writer. Just as there is no “one size fits all” job description for a writer, there’s no typical schedule except for writers employed fulltime at some type of company. Even then, the difference between how many hours a fulltime advertising copywriter puts in a week versus a newspaper reporter can vary quite a bit, as can the hours each of them puts in from week to week.
I can only speak from my own experience, which, over the years, has ranged from fulltime gigs in advertising and magazine writing to freelance projects priced by the hour, whether for ad clients or magazine editors. I’ve worked eight-hour days, twelve-hour days, weekends and holidays. You do what it takes to get the job done, and that’s true whether you want to make a living constructing words or constructing buildings.
These days, I don’t work eight-hour days. I don’t even work some days. At least not as a writer. (That’s where that second job comes in!) But that’s my choice. I write children’s books, which don’t take very long to write, but which take forever to edit and revise. I don’t make a ton of money. But I don’t write just to make money. I write because I love it.
It’s possible to write for love and money. Sometimes it will be more for love; sometimes it will be more for the money. Sometimes you’ll hate that you love writing so much that you have to do it for the money. But when it comes right down to it, you know you’re meant to write if you can’t imagine ever doing anything else. And that, I think, is the answer to question #5.
