Is my writing job going to ruin my creative writing career?

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MsGneiss

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I suppose I should first say that I don't really have a creative writing career. Not yet. I wrote one book and placed it with an agent. It hasn't been sold to a publisher yet (although it's on review by a few). I have written a second book and am currently editing it. I am in the planning stages for two other novels. I have a ton of ideas, and I love writing fiction, but obviously it doesn't pay the bills.

Recently, I got a good free-lance writing/editing gig. It's better than the day-job I had since it gives me a lot more free time to focus on my studies (I'm in graduate school). The writing isn't too challenging, but it is time consuming. I write for text books mostly, sometimes for manuals, and occasionally for large research grants that require statistical analysis. While 75% of the writing is in my domain of expertise, it still requires some research, and a great deal of concentration. I am not complaining, it's good work and precisely what I wanted. (I also started doing a bit of SEO for some extra cash, but I don't know that I'll keep up with it).

Anyway - I find that I have only so many writing hours in me. At the end of the day, there isn't much left in me for fiction. It's not about time (I finally have the time), it's just that after I spend 6 hours writing for school and work, I can't concentrate enough to write fiction (or anything else, for that matter).

So, this is mostly a rant, but I would also love to hear your ideas about how to make this work. I don't want to give up on fiction, even if it doesn't pay to do it (yet).
 

Smish

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Is it possible to do your freelance work on certain days, and your fiction work on others? Even if you can only dedicate one day a week solely to creative writing, it might be a good idea to do so.

Good luck!

:)Smish
 

MsGneiss

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Thanks Smish. That's what I'm thinking too, but right now I'm doing the freelance work every day, since I just started. I want to get into the groove of it. But, I think that I'll need to limit my fiction writing to those days when I don't do the technical stuff, cause otherwise my head will explode.
 

quickWit

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I had something for this...
I think you prolly just need to eat something and calm down.

You know where you should go? Ever been to Clifton, NJ? There's this hotdog place...
 

quickWit

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I had something for this...
*puts on serious hat. srsly.*

It might just take a bit of getting used to, Sleep. If this other writing gig is new for you it'll probably take a period of time to become accustomed to the new regimine. I wouldn't sweat it too much. It'll come.

*takes off stoopit hat*


*fart*

:D
 

MsGneiss

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It might just take a bit of getting used to, Sleep. If this other writing gig is new for you it'll probably take a period of time to become accustomed to the new regimine. I wouldn't sweat it too much. It'll come.

Oh my gosh - that was actually nice... and useful! I will cherish this moment for ever and ever bunny. :)
 

The Lonely One

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I suppose I should first say that I don't really have a creative writing career. Not yet. I wrote one book and placed it with an agent. It hasn't been sold to a publisher yet (although it's on review by a few). I have written a second book and am currently editing it. I am in the planning stages for two other novels. I have a ton of ideas, and I love writing fiction, but obviously it doesn't pay the bills.

Recently, I got a good free-lance writing/editing gig. It's better than the day-job I had since it gives me a lot more free time to focus on my studies (I'm in graduate school). The writing isn't too challenging, but it is time consuming. I write for text books mostly, sometimes for manuals, and occasionally for large research grants that require statistical analysis. While 75% of the writing is in my domain of expertise, it still requires some research, and a great deal of concentration. I am not complaining, it's good work and precisely what I wanted. (I also started doing a bit of SEO for some extra cash, but I don't know that I'll keep up with it).

Anyway - I find that I have only so many writing hours in me. At the end of the day, there isn't much left in me for fiction. It's not about time (I finally have the time), it's just that after I spend 6 hours writing for school and work, I can't concentrate enough to write fiction (or anything else, for that matter).

So, this is mostly a rant, but I would also love to hear your ideas about how to make this work. I don't want to give up on fiction, even if it doesn't pay to do it (yet).

I can sympathize with this big time. I'm a reporter, and I understand that this constant focused writing keeps ones skills sharp, yet wears on the cognitive muscle.

For me, fiction is a different animal, so it's not so much a matter of reaching my writing limit, but it is a mental strain to keep my focus after work. Sometimes almost impossible without some downtime, a nap, food.

This has been a huge issue for me, because I dislike reporting very much. After doing anything from cops/courts to health to features over the course of about two years, I absolutely hate how the media behaves, its expectations, the kind of writing I'm doing.

I know that sounds selfish (gee, lonely one, you have a writing job--most people would kill for that), but I won't settle when it comes to my future, and staying here would be settling big time. I don't consider this writing. You don't have to be a good writer to be a journalist. You have to have a basic grasp of AP style and the gumption to fuck other people in the ass (sources, competition) to get what you want. I do not have that, and I don't want that.

I've been compelled to study library sciences, and leave my writing to fiction, where it belongs.

My only suggestion is to write even if you're fatigued. I know that's hard, and it produces a lot more garbage, but it's really the only thing you can do. And I think doing that helps build your stamina when it comes to writing, even if you don't notice a change at first.
 

MsGneiss

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I can sympathize with this big time. I'm a reporter, and I understand that this constant focused writing keeps ones skills sharp, yet wears on the cognitive muscle.

For me, fiction is a different animal, so it's not so much a matter of reaching my writing limit, but it is a mental strain to keep my focus after work. Sometimes almost impossible without some downtime, a nap, food.

Thanks LO, both for the sympathy and the advice. You summarized my feelings perfectly. It's difficult to switch hats. After spending a day working on a chapter about ADHD, I am at a loss when I go to my novel and try to write dialogue or a romantic innuendo. If I force myself to it, I end up with a couple of pages of pure drivel, where my protagonist explains non-parametric regression techniques to his love interest.
 

AngelaA

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I've wondered this myself but in another context...what if you get that pub contract and you start writing and start making money and suddenly your love of writing disappears because you're under pressure to make a living at it? You know, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation...what if you stop loving it because you're doing it all the time?

Personally, in my dream world, I would love a job writing...so I envy you...in the real world I sympathize but would like to say this...any job can be draining to the point of coming home and not wanting to write...I struggle with this myself because I'm a teacher...so all day I'm on, interacting with my students, teaching, diciplining, etc...then I come home to piles of marking...the last thing I want to do is write for fun...it is very frustrating and I'm still trying to figure out a good balance...

but you're way ahead of me...you have the agent...you will have the pub contract and you will make it work so that one day in the hopefully near future you can quit your other job and only write fiction full time...that is the dream right?
 

MsGneiss

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I've wondered this myself but in another context...what if you get that pub contract and you start writing and start making money and suddenly your love of writing disappears because you're under pressure to make a living at it? You know, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation...what if you stop loving it because you're doing it all the time?

Personally, in my dream world, I would love a job writing...so I envy you...in the real world I sympathize but would like to say this...any job can be draining to the point of coming home and not wanting to write...I struggle with this myself because I'm a teacher...so all day I'm on, interacting with my students, teaching, diciplining, etc...then I come home to piles of marking...the last thing I want to do is write for fun...it is very frustrating and I'm still trying to figure out a good balance...

but you're way ahead of me...you have the agent...you will have the pub contract and you will make it work so that one day in the hopefully near future you can quit your other job and only write fiction full time...that is the dream right?

Thanks for the reply Angela. I agree that this is much better than the 9-5 (or rather, 8-7) jobs I've had before. I have a lot more freedom and time, and it's good to be paid to write and develop my skills.

I am not counting on a career as a novelist at this point. Even if this book sells, and even if the next book sells, and even if the third (yet to be written) book sells, I probably still won't be able to make a living on fiction alone. But, I do understand what you say about pressure to perform when you are being paid to write... so I'll be happy to cross that bridge when I get there. :)
 

Ms Hollands

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I only really started writing fiction when I stopped writing technical documentation and music journalism. My book idea hadn't arrived at that point.

Now that I am writing fiction, I find that my day job of production editor/sub editor does not at all get in the way of my writing. I guess it feels a bit like I'm still enjoying working with words all day long, but at the same time, it's not the same brain drain because I'm just applying rules to existing text, rather than having to write stuff from scratch all day long.

So my advice: give yourself time and bite the bullet for now, then see if you can climb into a role that still uses your wordsmith abilities but doesn't drain you the way you currently feel you're being drained.
 

Stew21

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I write in my day job - technical proposals - responses to RFPs. Many nights I have to take work home because I have very strict submittal deadlines for the bids I write. They are strategic and technical in nature, and they do take a lot out of me.

So I know what you're going through.

I can tell you this though, it takes some getting used to - the two writing hats, the writing energy being spent on your day job, etc.

From my experience, once you get used to it, your creativity and desire to spend time writing fiction will win out. You'll be able to make a distinction between the two kinds of writing and not lump both into "writing time". There's work writing and there's my writing. I have no problem dividing the two (unless I'm on a huge bid and the hours I would normally spend writing fiction and poetry get sucked under the work writing current and I run out of hours in a day - which has happened, but only on some tight big-bad deadlines). Once you can make the split in your mind between work writing and creative writing, you'll be able to do both, and they will coexist nicely compartmentalized in separate locations of your brain. :)


At least that is my experience.

good luck with it!
 
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JoNightshade

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A few years ago I started my current job, which is travel writing. It took me a while (months) to be able to swap between creative writing and travel writing. However, my brain eventually figured out that they were in two different categories and separated them accordingly, and after a while I could just "flip the switch." Give yourself some time, don't give up, it'll come.

Of course, my problem in the end was that my HANDS only have so much writing time in them, and after 40 hours a week typing, I couldn't physically go home and sit at a keyboard anymore. Eventually I ended up having to go to part time just because of that.
 

Claudia Gray

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I have to say, you really might want to alternate days. When I was a journalist, it was hard for me to gear up to write in the evenings; I'd used all that energy. Then I took a corporate job to pay the bills, sure I was selling out -- and discovered that I now had plenty of creative juice left over at the end of the day. The phenomenon you're talking about is very real, but in the future, when you can control your own schedule more, it probably won't be a problem. Good luck!
 
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