Day job?

[hlywkar]

Just curious what people out there think is an ideal day job for someone that wants to be a writer.

I have a BA in Psych, minor in English, and 2 years of geography. Currently I am a ESL teacher in korea. but I'll be back in canada in 6 months and want to find a job I can work and still get writing done.

[j. d. worthington]

This doesn't really belong with the "Feedback" forum, which is devoted to feedback on Chronicles, various problems with the way things are set up, etc. This seems more a Lounge sort of discussion, hence will be moved there.

As for the question: I'm not sure there is an "ideal" day job for a writer. Most writers do all sorts of things, moving from one job to another, which works best for them (not to mention giving them experience to draw on when writing); others have a lifelong profession of one type or another, which works very well for them, and aids to inform their fiction by prolonged thought in a particular aspect of human endeavor.

I suppose it's easier to define what's not a good job for a writer than any ideal that is; this being: any job which not only eats up time which could be used for your own writing, but which saps your energy and prevents you from being mentally healthy and sharp, thus dulling your abilities to write at the top of your form....

[I, Brian]

Moved.

Also, this may be of interest:
Wanted: News writers

[hlywkar]

opps, my bad. :P

[jenna]

Well, my sister tells me what's NOT a good job is becoming a corporate writer, as now that she has done it for a job for a couple of years, she has absolutely no desire to write for pleasure! So I would say, don't do anything that might possibly suck the fun and passion out of writing for you.

Something good would definitely be a job where you can observe people, at their best and worst, to help your characterisation. And also a job in which you have a fair bit of free time in which to jot down your observations. My job in retail gives me that, although as I've just been promoted again I'll have less free time, it's totally spot on in the people-observing department. I'm obviously not suggesting you get into retail, especially with your qualifications, and especially considering it's such a sucky job and I hate customer service... /annoyed rant. But something similar, working amongst a lot of diverse people would be my suggestion.

[Anne Lyle]

I've found working in non-fiction publishing, on the production side, helpful. You get an insight into how publishers in general work and how books (or magazines/journals) are put together, and get used to working to a deadline. Part of my job was to commission freelance proofreaders and then check their corrections had been incorporated by the typesetters - which is a good way to find out whether you enjoy the meticulous side of writing! And since I wasn't either writing, or dealing with fiction, all day, it didn't diminish my desire to write in my spare time.

On the downside it's harder to find publishing jobs since I moved out of London, which is one reason I'm now a web programmer, even though that's less than ideal owing to the mental demands of the work.