To take a tangent from another thread: If you had to pick any day job to support your writing life, what would it be? (Note, the "day job" can take place at any time of day.) Would you pick your current job or something completely different?
The Ideal Day Job for Writers
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I think it was Brandon Sanderson that said his first job was as a night desk clerk at a hotel. I guess it allowed plenty of time to write while on the job.
I agree Jamie. Something with no responsibility and all the time in the world. Perhaps receptionist at a company where the phone never rings?
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I'm a programmer. It suits me perfectly.
No, I don't have time during the day to write. Snatches here and there, nothing substantial. The reason it works for me is because it allows me to be left-brained. I'd go batty if I had to be perpetually one half or the other.
No, I don't have time during the day to write. Snatches here and there, nothing substantial. The reason it works for me is because it allows me to be left-brained. I'd go batty if I had to be perpetually one half or the other.
I am interested in working in corporate finance... I think that would be the ideal day job for me. It pays well, is not influenced by magic fireballs from space (the numbers are there or they're not)... or so it would seem. 
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Well, I'm school to study for my future day job. Librarian. Only three years left until I get my masters.
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Something that actually doesn't exist in porn.
... so I've been told. From semi-reliable sources.
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I'm self-employed as a graphic designer and it works really well with my writing because I make my own hours.
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I'm a cat herder.
On a less serious note, I would think the perfect job for a writer would include being near creative people. Creative people feed off each other. Mutual symbiosis.
On a less serious note, I would think the perfect job for a writer would include being near creative people. Creative people feed off each other. Mutual symbiosis.
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Definitely something in a library or maybe a theatre. I would love to work in a theatre box-office.
Translator. Specially for movies and TV shows since less vocabulary is required, really helps you to get into the mind of characters who aren't yours (the Dr. Gonzo Method )
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Well, I'm currently a high school student, so I don't have a paying "day job", but I'm working towards being a translator. Ideally, I'd like to be able to live comfortably and support a family that I would like to have based solely on writing,but chances of that are very slim...so I chose a translator as my back-up career. I love languages, and learning languages, particularly French, so this seemed like an obvious choice to me.
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I like what I'm doing, and the hours are just about perfect. Now, if it just paid more.
I'm not a writer who could just sit around and be a writer. I'd go absolutely stir crazy.
I'm not a writer who could just sit around and be a writer. I'd go absolutely stir crazy.
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I already have the perfect job for me--freelance editor. I decide on my own projects and create my own hours. Since mine isn't the primary income for our household, I can set things up however I want. If I want to concentrate on my writing, I won't take any projects for a few weeks. Or if I'm getting burned out, I'll do some extra editing and take a bit of a break from writing.
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My old writing teacher told me about a writer friend of his who worked at the "information desk" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The only "information" he was asked for most days was where the bathroom and the coat check were. So he got into a good routine of pointing people where they needed to go, and working on his novel the rest of the time. Basically he was getting paid to write, and he was in one of the best people-watching spots you could imagine. I could totally deal with a day job like that.
I teach a fiction class, and I was worried when I took the job that it would wind up crowding up my head with other people's stories and that I'd be plagiarizing. But I only teach once a week and I get to spend time with people who love writing and I wander around Manhattan on my way to class. Of course, it's a good thing my husband has a job as a lawyer.
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You know, sometimes I regret leaving my "good-friends but no-passion" ex-boyfriend for just that reason. He wanted to get married young and I wasn't into it (or really all that into him other than as a friend), but he's an engineer (decent income) and he encouraged my independence, so in a way I think it could have been a great setup for the writing life. Have someone else pay the bills, so I can just write, take classes, and volunteer or take on a part-time job for inspiration rather than for some career or bill-paying reason. But you better believe you'll be paying for it in one way or another.
And... they always want kids eventually. Unless you're older. Or they're older. Hmm... maybe I should find a rich octagenarian who's still heavily involved in his work and doesn't demand a lot of attention?
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