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Joined: 5/28/2012
Posts: 43
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There wasn't an obvious place for the question I wanted to ask, so I picked this category because it seemed to fit. (Hopefully you all will see the logic behind the choice. It just might take me awhile to get there...)
It's a two-part question, actually.
Part One: I was wondering if any of you write for a living? I don't mean fiction writing, but other types -- blogging, journalism, ad copy, grant applications, science or health writing, etc.
Part Two: How does this affect your efforts at fiction? Do you still have the energy when you get home at night to pull out your manuscript and plug away? Does it change the way you write? Make you better, or worse?
Generally speaking, I'm just curious as to what others on here have to say, but I also start a job as a technical writer (patent-related stuff, so a mix of science and legalese, with the eventual goal of becoming a patent agent) on Monday and I'll be interested to see whether my work changes as a result. (Prior to this point in time, I was a graduate student in chemistry, so I did a fair amount of science writing, e.g. research papers for journals and of course my 253-page dissertation.)
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Joined: 2/27/2011
Posts: 353
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Bumping this up so others see it.
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Joined: 5/10/2011
Posts: 88
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Hi Sneaky!
I work in communications/writing & editing full time with a freelance writing & editing business on the side. I do corporate writing mostly... some editing (not as much as I'd like though). Corporate writing encompasses many different things - mass emails, marketing, Press Releases, informative brochures, website text, articles, etc.
I also try (and fail) to blog regularly both for personal and freelance purposes...
Which is a lot of writing to do in one week... and I don't often get it all done...As to how it effects my fiction - it makes it very very very difficult to write in the evenings. After working all day trying to figure out an original way to say "you get A when you do B", I generally have to force myself to write fiction... which makes me very very sad because I love writing.
The skills I learn in the workplace do improve my skills in fiction and vice versa. I have noticed a lot of little quirks about my writing since I joined BC - and I've applied those to my corporate projects. And a lot of the critics/edits my boss & coworkers give me at work can be applied to fiction as well - because in all writing, a clear and consistent voice is very important... regardless of the intended audience.
How will this apply to you though - I think you'll find that technical writing and fiction writing is vastly different. I did a stint as a technical writer (very short one) and found that it's mostly formulaic and dry whereas fiction is creative and exciting. I have a feeling that you'll be a pro at organizing your scenes and plot lines by the time you're done!! And I doubt you'll have any problems with writing fiction in the evening, as it'll be a relief to let yourself go...
Anyway, I hope this answers your question!
Colleen - your bumping strategy works... just thought you should know 
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Joined: 5/28/2012
Posts: 43
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It seems my habit here on Book Country is to start a discussion and then disappear for a few weeks. Seriously, though, the hours at the new job are a bit longer than what I was used to as a graduate student, and something's got to go. I'm still churning out blog entries, still working on my second manuscript while waiting to hear back about my first, and I'm now in week 13 of P90X. But that doesn't leave much time for anything else!
I'm already finding technical writing quite different from fiction. Seems one strategy in dealing with the patent and trademark office is being repetitive. Say something, offer a bit of evidence, and then make your original statement again, albeit in slightly different words.
I mean, the rules of English grammar and punctuation are still the same. It's amazing, though, how nitpicky people can be about the use of simple words like "has" or "data."
One thing I find aggravating is the need to use the same word repeatedly in one paragraph. This is an obvious no-no in fiction (unless you're doing something for effect -- usually when I see it in books, it's unconscious, though), but it's sometimes unavoidable in legal/technical documents.
So far, it's not affecting my fiction writing, I think. And I figure it's good practice for when I find a publisher. Because I'm new and inexperienced and the higher-ups have to edit my work. I get lots of red pen and "track changes" Word documents back. Dealing with editorial suggestions now, in work that's less personal, is like a warm-up for dealing with editorial suggestions in a novel-length manuscript (my Ph.D. advisor had very little to say about my dissertation, other than that it was one of the better-written ones he'd seen).
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Joined: 5/10/2011
Posts: 88
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Hi Sneaky!
I know what you mean... I wish I had more time for BookCountry and I'm one of those "start a convo, then disappear" types as well - you're not alone!
Keep making time for your manuscripts - I think everyone here will agree that those ultimately come before BC!
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