You May Not Be Doing It full-time, But Your Work Today Will Help Your Writing Tomorrow

As I mentioned previously, when I am feeling beaten down by the state of the world, I will pull up a great scene from a movie or television show.  One that I will go to from time to time is the final shootout in Quigley Down Under where rifle marksman Matthew Quigley (Tom Selleck) is forced into a pistol duel against villain Elliott Marston (Alan Rickman). Take a look.

Now that you have watched the awesome ending to this underappreciated Western, you may be wondering how it applies to your writing. Well, even if your job requires a certain amount of writing, the ones where you can write full-time are few and far between. However, the other skills you are learning will only benefit your writing.

If you decide to pursue a career as a freelance writer, any experience that you have as a project manager will be critical because you are likely not going to be doing one writing assignment at a time. You will basically be project managing for several pieces through multiple interviews and meetings as you submit them by their deadlines. That experience will also come in handy as you manage invoices, taxes, and the other finances of your business.

One can also not diminish the importance of soft people skills. For example, you will be working with various clients, all of whom have differing personalities and office cultures that you will need to be able to read and respond to in a way that gives them what they need. People skills will also come in handy when you need to negotiate the pay rates that your clients are proposing.

Granted, this career experience will never give you an opportunity to look someone in the eye and say, “This ain't Dodge City and you ain't Bill Hickok,” but what job does? Just know that the work you are doing today will help your writing tomorrow.

If you enjoyed this piece, you might also like my earlier blog on curing a writer’s block.

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