Hello! I'm Emily and I'm currently a journalist for the most part. I write about video games but I've done a lot of copywriting and commercial marketing in the past too. Now I've moved to Sweden and I'd really like to move away from reviews and marketing and that type of setting. It's not really my bag anymore. I want to try expressing all the creativity I've had building up inside me for the past few years and I'm really hoping to learn more about creative styles and how to structure stories. Structure was something I struggled with the most starting out as a critic. Now I'm finding I have similar issues structuring stories and any advice for overcoming that would be pretty awesome! I look forward to getting to know everyone here and will gladly consume all the advice you guys give. Thanks dudes! Hope you're all doing good.
Hi Emily! Welcome to the writing forums; when I first started I found the member quick start guide very useful! You should be able to view it here. Since you live in Sweden now, is your username Swedish? What does it mean? I'm actually considering becoming a journalist, why did you quit? I can understand you wanting to work creatively though, that's what I'm working on. I hope us at the writing forum can help you out! It seems a little slow lately...
Hey Nicoel! Thanks for the reply. Yes, my username is Swedish; it means fruit bear! I had a little look through the quick start guide and it's pretty helpful! I like the style of it, too. I really enjoyed journalism when I started out and it was what I was passionate about at the time. I've always been creative and wanted to write creatively, but at the time I wanted to work with my love of video games and I wanted to discuss them with others. I have, to date, really enjoyed everything I've done so far, but I grew tired of critique and review work. I worked as a journalist and as a copywriter at the same time, and that left too little time for creative outlets I think. As a result, I've been finding my journalism a little bit stagnant. I think everyone just needs variation and maybe I didn't give myself enough of it until I burned out. I'm also not one for cheating others or aggressively and ambitiously working my way to the top. I prefer to just chill out and do what I like, and I think I found some of the atmosphere a bit tiring at times. Everyone is different though, and there's nothing wrong with ambition. I could do with more of it! What kind of journalism would you like to get into exactly? And what creative things are you working on at the moment? Tell me more!
Well that's terrible that you got burned out so quickly on something you were passionate about! Being aggressive to succeed does sound exhausting though. I'm not 100% sure the kind of journalism I'd like to get into. Something to do with writing, and publishing. Writing is really my only passion, but I'm struggling with finding a way I can make a career and a decent living out of it. I don't mind not being able to afford a Ferrari, but some toilet paper and a movie or two would be nice! Right now I'm working on my first try at a romance novel between a neurotypical girl, and an autistic guy. I really love the idea, but I'm hesitant on how it'll actually turn out! I don't have any other projects. I'm limiting myself to one at a time so I can actually finish them.
Thank you for the welcomes! Nicoel: It's true that journalism doesn't pay well, especially specialist journalism. Your story sounds great though! I'm usually not one for romances because I *tend* to find love stories (especially heterosexual, white ones) quite repetitive and dull, but your idea sounds unique and interesting and as if it has a lot more elements at play within the relationship. I love the sound of that. I love that it works something different into an older style. It's something I would definitely read!
