Creative writers don’t always get to write. We pursue our passion with our hearts in our throats, hoping we can defend our decision when the time comes, or even better – that one day, when our manuscript gets published, we won’t have to.
While people born with the desire to become doctors or lawyers are encouraged every step of the way, creative writers live in constant doubt: “Am I doing the right thing?” “Should I study something else?” If every budding creative writer was told that they can succeed, and that it’s possible to make a living out of writing, I believe there would be hundreds more creative writers in the world today.
Those who do choose to follow their creative writing passion face adversity. Throughout college, odd jobs, and even family gatherings, I was told I needed a backup plan. When they found out my Master’s degree was in creative writing, they immediately asked, “Are you a journalist?” or “Are you going to teach?” as if creative writer was not a real job. I sat through lectures, “friendly” advice, and well-meant council, all telling me that writing was great and all…but what was I really going to do?
I had never really considered content writing – mostly because I didn’t know it existed. I was under the naive impression that everyone simply wrote their own content, and I couldn’t be a part of that unless I started my own website. When I first read about content writing, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Where was this when strangers scoffed at my creative writing degree? Why wasn’t I told sooner that content writing was a thing?
At first, I wasn’t sure if it was exactly what I was looking for. After all, I read books, not web content. Still, the thought of being able to say that I was paid to write (to really write, not edit or proofread, as was the case with my other jobs) was something I couldn’t pass up. It occurred to me that while the two mediums had their differences, the same thing was at the heart of both – conveying a message to the world in a way that makes them listen. I soon realized that content writing was creative writing, but with the added challenge of being informative.
So, which skills translate? Here are four of them: