What Sort of Writer Do you Want to Be?

When I was a child, I knew I wanted to be a writer and whilst I have been a number of other things along the way, I have always been one. What I haven’t always been is the same kind of writer. A detail that people often forget is that there are multiple schools of writing .Sure a writer could fall into multiple forms of the disciples; William Shakespeare wasn’t just a playwright after all, he was also a poet (among other things). My first piece of advice to any young writers out there will always be to know where you want to start and build from there. Sure, you are a writer but what sort of writer do you want to be?

Here are a few potential options.

Novelist

I love a good novel. I don’t know whether I’ll ever actually be a novelist or not though.

The first I read was Charlotte’s Web, the most recent (at the time of writing)  was The Outsider. Writing a novel is difficult and getting it published is so difficult that many choose to self-publish until either they build a following or get their lucky break. Whilst there is skill and discipline involved in writing a novel, the thing you need most is determination, persistence and luck

Screenwriter

If you’re looking to write for TV, movies or video games; you’re looking to be a screenwriter. This isn’t an area of writing that I’ve explored very deeply. When I was a kid; my mum had an idea for a comedy about the staff room antics of train staff called ‘Off the Rails’. I spent some time looking into the process and found it didn’t suit my natural instincts as a writer.

As a screenwriter, you tend to start the process by sending in and pitching ideas for work that probably won’t ever get produced. What will happen instead if your work goes down well is you’re asked to join an existing project. Although this isn’t always the case.

Screenwriting can involve a lot of adapting existing work and collaborating with others.

Short Story Writer

Short stories are fun to write and really are wonderful reads for when life gets a little too busy. I remember discovering a passion for short stories through authors like Stephen King, Virginia Woolf and Isaac Asimov.

As a short story writer, you’ll spend a lot of time writing for magazines, websites and multi-author collections. Once you’ve built a name for yourself, you might release regular collections of your own.

Journalist

Journalists write news for websites, newspapers or magazines. There are all different kinds. You could be an investigative journalist, a videogames journalist or a foreign affairs journalist for example. The publication you write for will often have a particular angle or stance on things and you’d often be looking for one that lines with your ideals.

Generally a degree would be expected to be a journalist for most publications, although there can be exceptions.

Poet

My first published work was a poem. Poetry is special in that it is an excellent form of expression within arbitrary rulesets defined either by sub-genres of the author themself. Much like music, there tends to be patterns as well as rhythm and rhyme although neither is strictly necessary.

Whilst it can seem to many that poems don’t have the cultural prevalence they used to. The form very much lives on in music. However, even in its more traditional form; there are numerous magazines and websites that pay for poetic content. A good starting point though would be one of the numerous competitions out there.

Critic/Reviewer

The amount of media out there, places to visit, things to do and products to buy have led us to a culture engulfed in an embarrassment of riches. We’re spoiled. It is impossible to know what is worth our time and effort and equally, what is not.

Criticism is (of course subjective) and so there is room for all types of critics out there. As long as you have an angle, are honest, passionate and expressive; there is sure to be a market of readers who will line-up with your sensibilities and appreciate your work.

Playwright/Radio Drama Writer

As a drama writer for the stage or audio; what you write may or may not be performed. Much like writing for TV or movies it may end up getting you recruited to collaborate on existing projects with more established names. Of course, you might also be lucky from the offset.

Copywriter

A copywriter writes adverts, or promo material to be publicly consumed. Generally, you’re given a brief, do some research and write material for others not owned by you. Large businesses often like to hire copywriters.

Ghostwriter

By ghostwriting you are enabling another writer or personality to keep producing content or share their story. You are writing under their name and on their behalf.

One of the recommended paths to ghostwriting is blogging and guest posting for other platforms. By gaining experience you are more desirable (as long as you know how to pitch) to editors in need of ghostwriting.

Many Others…

These examples are only a snippet of the options available. The possibility space for potential writers is phenomenal; a few honorable mentions are:

• Technical writers.
• Columnists.
• Academic writers.
• Transcribers.
• Translators.
• Encyclopedist.

Even including these there are so many options available, so many possible paths and areas of expertise. Whilst the term writer has certain connotations and associations to most, the term is incomprehensibly broad.

Knowing all this, the question of what sort of writer you want to be becomes much more complicated. Overwhelming even. However, there is something to be said for having a vision in mind; or at the very least, knowing what you are not. After all, whatever remains helps define the possibility of what you are. From there you can more readily identify where to put your time and effort and begin your journey as a professional writer.