So what is everyone's day job. does it effect your writing style or influence you. I'm a mechanic. The way that cars work have always intrigued me. its one of the few art forms that anyone can do well in. the long hours make it hard to write but i like to use the things in a car to try and construct stories of who the customer is and the things the car has gone through. keeps the brain awake.
Ha ha! I'm still working on that. Just applied to work at Pet Smart and JC Penney yesterday. If I get to a printer soon, I'll fill out the application for the local movie theater. (I actually really hope I get a Pet Smart or theater job because I think they will be exciting, different from what I'm used to, and a great way for me to learn and be around things I like: animals and movies). I also heard a nearby Goodwill warehouse has 45 positions open, so I shall see. On a more long term note. I just finished my second year of college, not too long ago. I plan on continuing soon, and getting into internships for editing or journalism. I'm thinking about a career in editing (perhaps technical, perhaps academic, perhaps fiction, not sure... I'll see what calls me... maybe I'll freelance). After that I plan on teaching high school English and coaching shot put and discus (cuzI luv them enough to put in my plan).
I had several friends in high school that worked the theaters. all through high school i never once paid for a movie or snacks lol
As much as I hate to say it, my job has a negative influence on my writing. I intern at a law office (I used to work a law office before I started school), and reading legal documents all day has taken some of the excitement out of my prose. But all hope is not lost; maybe I'll turn out to be the next John Grisham.
My girlfriend is a police officer and i peaked into her revised statues book while she was in the academy. HOLY JESUS so much boring fully explained old English. i feel bad for you lol
I'm a software engineer by day. Currently, I work for a company specializing in clinical decision support, so I'm exposed to a lot of medical information. In the same position, and in a previous company as well, I have been involved in computer-assisted natural language translation. Previous software positions have exposed me to telephone networks, internet security, computer language translation, mathematics and statistics, and online credit transactions, to name a few. Before I was a software engineer, I was a research chemist. All these jobs, plus many hobbies and other interests, all contribute to my writing. I know some subjects in depth, others in a broad, surface level, but all are starting points for story research. Not only that, but the need to delve into new specialties on short notice have taught me how to research. All told, over sixty years of life experience, coupled with insatiable curiosity, is a deep well of material to draw from.
That is awesome. The most i have done with software is tuning the computers in cars and that gets old after awhile and my computer does most of the work. but you gotta do what you love. i always wanted to dab into chemistry but never went any farther than my amateur chemistry kit from amazon lol
I'm a mom. I went to school as an Anthro/Religious Studies major with the intention of pursuing my Masters in Archaeology with an emphasis in Egyptology and a PH.D dream. I wanted to travel and live among history and worked as a car saleswoman & Macy's Wedding Consultant during college to supplement what my grants and scholarships didn't cover. I ended up finding love and chose to get married and have a family. I have some artistic endeavors on the side that I've sold through Etsy, eBay, and some local craft fairs, but it's not much of a financial contribution to the household anymore. Being a stay at home mom completely changed my course of writing as I used to do only adult fiction and primarily now do children's picture books and early readers...to my honest surprise, I love it!
being a stay at home mom has got to be difficult on writing. Personally the shorter amount of time i have at home the more inspired i get. when i have a full day at home seems like i cant get anything done.
It is difficult right now because they're still small...5 and 2. My eldest starts school in a couple months which should make things a little easier (though we've talked a bit about a #3...that would definitely not help with my "me" time!). I home-preschool so they are with me 24/7...in fact, the first time I was away from them overnight was last year for my BFF's wedding. It can be hard to keep a clean house, write, and just stay sane with kids constantly undoing what gets done but luckily I'm a night owl and my writing time is usually done after they're in bed (assuming I'm not too exhausted!). It's definitely not for everyone...most of my mommy friends couldn't imagine not having a career outside the home, and while I never expected this would be what I do, I actually enjoy it. 90% of the time
The last real job I had was as the IT manager for a coffee company. I don't think it affected my writing at all.
@nippy818, what kind of details in a car do you like to make up stories for? What kind of stories? Don't leave us hanging. An example please. I'm a baker, born and bread. <- just for the pun, I'm actually not that crazy about baking. I want to get into healthcare, but that's a bit down the road. As with any job, I get to meet tons of interesting people. Because we move around a lot from station to station, normal conversation has to flow in tidbits that move a lot of information. I like to think it's good practise for tight writing. Of course, the odd fling comes from meeting people at work, which completely derails my projects. Priorities? Pah!
@Okon i have to say its almost always the things in the car. you know sometimes you find a loaded gun under the seat and now its a mafia car. or lets say its an older gentleman car and you find some lacy underwear, things like that you have to create little stories for. perhaps the older gentleman lost his wife and is now on a cross country trip to discover who he is on his own but he also brought along some young gold digger that is slowly falling in love with and seeing him as the livng story he is. or hes just a bit more adventurous. lol he had Wisconsin plates so perhaps he is some kind of cheese baron, I'm pretty sure cheese barons are a thing.
I work with children. At the moment I am living on a cattle property looking after three children during the day and occasionally teaching them for school. I mostly work only weekdays but sometimes they get busy and they need me on the weekend. I mostly find that I can get a decent amount of writing done when hanging out in my living quarters, but I do occasionally get a head popping up at my window which will break my chain of thought when I'm studying or snap me out of my character's head.
I teach college-level composition. It affects my writing in the same way that going to the grocery store does, I suppose: less time for it.
Right now I have a volunteer job. Trying to get a part-time job at least. :[ Got a list of stores to fill applications for. I would *really* like to not be the only guy on this forum out of college and have no job.
You're right. In the meantime I'm going to teach myself Access, Excel, and PowerPoint. The more skills I have, the more enticing I'd be to a potential employer.
I'm an IT guy or more officially : "systems administrator". I plan, implement and maintain computer systems for the company I'm working at. I'm a geek, interested in technology and as a "natural result" of this I'm a big fan of sci-fi (and god-knows-why fantasy as well). Pros - I can type fast, search effectively (for example using the advanced search options of Google) and have a good understanding on how different devices/software can be used (not just for writing). The most important thing computers taught me is that anger is useless in the process of problem solving. I see too many people who seem to be totally unaware of this simple fact. Cons - I'm afraid I spend too much time staring at technical details instead of the story and I'm really disappointed when I see (even the smallest) logical error in a novel/movie.
I work as a kitchen porter... washing dishes... woo... Though I suppose that's more of a night job, but my day job is being a lazy bum which isn't very interesting. Then again, washing dishes isn't very interesting either... One thing with washing dishes is how dry your hands get. Like when you've been in a bath or shower for too long - my hands are like that permanently. I'm like Crinkly McCrinkleson crinkling up the place with his crinkly hands.
