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Technical Writing Day Job + Writing Fiction: Help or Hinderance?

themindstream

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Background: I'm job hunting. I do computer work and I want to focus my attention on sysadmin but I got a recruiter query for a tech writing job. The position is similar to one of my functions in my last job which was writing documentation for other peoples software projects. With my background I could probably do it.

But! I want to write fiction. The tech is a day job. I have work I want to be polishing for a run at the pro markets. On one hand, more practice with technical writing could be good practice for writing overall. (I can say from reading the work of an ex-technical writer that it will not teach you the art of story but it ought to be good at drilling the...erm...technical details.) On the other hand i worry that if I'm sitting at a job writing for six to eight hours a day I'm not going to want to come home and write more. (I do tire fairly easily, especially under stress, probably a consequence of how my brain is wired.)

Is there anyone out there who has done both? Anyone who has succeeded at both? Anyone who's failed? I'd like to hear your experiences.
 

Snitchcat

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I'm doing both.


My tech writing job is more editing than actual writing. It can be stressful since there are peaks, however, those pass quickly in my case. But mainly the fact that it focuses so much on reality and I have to be super-logical in many cases, as well as interact with colleagues of all sorts, the fiction writing is a relief. For me, it's actually relaxing to lose myself in writing novels after work. Although, I do switch mediums to prevent burnout: computer at work, writing by hand at home or wherever I happen to be (editing is on the computer, though).
 

Cobalt Jade

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When I was tech writing/desktop publishing, things were so slow, and my own rate of work so fast, I managed to get a 300,000 word fantasy novel written. Half of it actually on the job.

I don't think I could do it now, though. If I was at a computer all day, I wouldn't want to sit at one when I came home.
 

Lakey

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It might depend on the particular tech-writing job. My tech-writing job is very demanding; it takes up a tremendous amount of mental bandwidth. I work on technically complex software products used by engineers to do technically complex things. My company places a huge value on its documentation (which is not a given; for many companies it's an afterthought), so there is a lot of visibility of what I do at all levels of the company, and a strong emphasis on quality and information design. On top of that, I manage a team of writers that covers nine products, and I do information-design and other standard-setting and training duties for my department.

I come home pooped, and on many weekdays I simply do not have the energy for working on fiction. This is especially true when I am close to release deadlines and work becomes more urgent. But that's the nature of my particular job; there are plenty of tech-writing jobs that are lower-stress and not as demanding on the mental faculties as mine is. And, I'm 46 years old; fifteen or twenty years ago, I would have had a lot more energy for everything than I have now.

I like my job (on balance) because it's satisfying and extremely interesting; my company is a good company to work for, and pays pretty well. The job is certainly compatible with me developing my fiction-writing skills, but it's not compatible with me doing so quickly. It's coming up on two years since I've been working on my first novel, and though the zeroeth draft is nearly done, it will probably be another year or even two before it's fully revised and ready for beta readers.
 

Richard White

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I've worked as a tech writer/editor going on 19 years. Like Lakey said above, there are days you have been stressing over trying to get engineers or developers to actually speak English instead of computerese so you can get that last minute document out. Other projects are as I like to say, "Six weeks of boredom followed by two weeks of panic". Those are when I'm on a software development project that's doing eight week spins. So, for about six weeks, there's not much I can do beyond cleaning up old documents, making corrections our users note, etc., because the developers aren't done writing the code for the latest version. However, once they lock the code down for the spin (usually at the last possible moment), then I have five-seven days to write the user's manual, the change document, the new system specs document, make any changes to the security documents (if required), update the requirements document, and any other program-specific documentation, get someone to review it to make sure I did translate the computer-speak into real English, take my screen shots. Then, in the remaining two days or so, get the govie to sign off on the documents (I'm a government contractor), and then turn them into .pdfs and have one of the developers upload the new links to the new documentation, and then collapse. *whew*

The good part is, on projects like this, during the six weeks of boredom, I've managed to get quite a bit of writing in because I sold my bosses on the fact I was a) at my desk ready to do something if it came up and b) it was good typing practice. As long as I never let my outside writing interfere with my "work" writing, they've never complained.

And, to be quite honest, I've certainly earned more money as a technical writer than I have as a fiction writer, which from a responsible husband and father perspective, is a heck of a lot more important. Now, would I drop the tech writing if I had JKR-type success with my writing? In a heartbeat. But, unless lightning strikes, or I hit the lottery, I suspect I'll be a tech writer until I decide to retire.

Besides, I've never not been able to get an assignment after a current contract ends ... everyone needs tech writers but no one wants to do it. Especially programmers.
 
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veinglory

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I do a different kind of technical writing, and work conditions aside I think strengthening and using my ability to write in different modes has improved my fiction writing abilities.
 

Al X.

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I will turn this around a little bit. There are those that are good writers, and there are those that aren't. Engineers tend to be mediocre writers as a whole, and some are downright bad. The best engineering writers are often relegated to technical reports and proposals. I am a good technical writer. Other people have told me that. I critique technical reports and sometimes even re-write them. I am successful at it.

But I've always enjoyed fiction writing, and I have a series of action adventure books. In terms of success, I'm probably within the top five percent of successful Amazon authors (which isn't saying a whole lot, as 95% sell a copy to their mom and that's it) but a couple of my books have been within the top 100 in the action adventure category, and almost within the top ten under specific subcategories. Then everything changed and that's another story.

The only piece of advice I can give is that the market is extremely competitive, whether self pubbing or otherwise. New authors, even brilliant ones get lost in the woodwork unless they have access to potent promotional services, and even then it's hit and miss.

Just do it. It's fun. View it as fun. If it's fun to you, you will make it work out somehow.
 

Vhb_Rocketman

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Yes and no. I'm not officially a technical writer per say, but I'm an engineer and we don't have in house technical writers. I feel like a majority of my job is writing technical documents.

In the grand scheme of things they don't occupy the same portion of my brain. I could spend all day writing a report or other technical document then come home and write my story. It still feels refreshing and a change of pace. On the other hand I've played games where I just can't do it because it's too similar to my job. I think it has more to do with the subject then the action. Writing about technical stuff then writing about dragons is fine. Mean while working on a technical design then coming home to play a game where you do the same design is tiring.

The biggest thing I've learned is that the type of writing is different though. And you have to be careful not to let te technical writing style slip into the fiction. When my wife read the first few chapters of my WIP she laughed and said she it sounded like it was written by an emgineer. She was right too! There was too much cautious language because that's how I was used to writing.

Long story short. I think you should be able to do it. Just keep an eye out for the technical writing style in your WIP.
 

ipsbishop

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I've written thousands of pages of tech materials, manuals, proposals white papers and a lot of tech-based magazine articles. I would be the first to say that going from tech writing to fiction was challenging. Mostly all I had to do with the tech writing was to be clear and avoid the dreaded passive voice. Fiction was a brave new world. The good news is I'm quickly learning with help from members here. I had to do it poorly to learn how to do it better.
 

themindstream

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Thanks all. Feel free to continue answering, but I've been encouraged enough to send my resume to the recruiter and give it a shot. I guess I won't know until I try whether it will work for me but its encouraging that it works for other people. And if it doesn't work, it will still be a step back into the job market and make getting the next job easier.
 

amergina

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I've had a tech writing day job for 20+ years now, and it's a different skill set... but a complementary enough one.

I can usually manage to write two novels a year. I think the main skill that has helped is being flexible in my process and the willingness to learn new techniques. Just as helpful on the dayjob as it is crafting novels!
 

angeliz2k

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First off, the day job is the most important thing. While it'd be lovely to say something like, "You should take a chance and take a job that allows you to focus on your writing," that isn't realistic. That whole thing about not quitting your day job is particularly true with writers. First look after your well-being, then worry about writing.

Second, it's hard to tell, really, how the job will affect you ahead of time. You might find yourself mentally exhausted, you might not. But the technical writing aspect might be a great way to flex your writing muscles. I am not a technical writer, but in my previous job I spent most my time writing formal and semi-formal emails to scientists all over the world, trying to explain policy and procedure that they didn't give a rat's ass about and trying to get them to do stuff gratis. THAT was really good practice (knowing your audience, subtlety of meaning, clarity and conciseness). You might find that some days you're too mentally worn out to write fiction, but when you do get the chance to write you're a better writer. Or you may find that it doesn't bother you to come home and write some more.
 

DanielSTJ

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I would think that it would depend on the person in question. For some, it would be a great job to accompany writing fiction.

With others, it would prove the exact opposite.

Situation and person-dependent methinks.
 

Earthling

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My day job is similar to technical writer - bid writer. I think it's a massive help for many reasons:

1. I write to non-negotiable deadlines as a matter of course. This also stops me letting myself off the hook with 'writers' block'... when you have to write or starve, you can't buy-in to a myth that sometimes you just can't write.

2. I write to non-negotiable word limits or page limits as a matter of course. I can cut a huge percentage of words in any passage if I need to.

3. I edit my own words, as well as others', to a professional standard, as a matter of course. Not just copy editing but structural editing, because I get passages from people who aren't writers. It's like critiquing in SYW every day.

4. It's creative. Not in the same way as writing pure fiction, and I'm not sure if this applies to technical writing, but in my role I have to be creative. I'm not just giving information; I'm trying to convince an unknown panel of evaluators that my company is the best company to deliver a certain job for them. It's a big challenge and it's fun.

5. I'm a professional writer, so I don't suffer as badly from imposter syndrome as many women who start to write fiction.

6. I'm used to having my writing marked and critiqued. Those marks mean the difference between winning a £1bn contract and winning nothing. Having my fiction critiqued is definitely more personal, and I still had sweaty palms the first time I showed somebody a manuscript, but I think I started with a thicker skin than some.

7. When I don't have actual work to do, I can spend my working hours writing or beta reading, and it looks like I'm working. :)
 

owlion

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I haven't done technical writing, but in my last job I regularly wrote content for social media, websites and articles, which had no impact on writing fiction in my free time. I think it would depend on how tiring the role is - but you often get used to it after a while anyway.