Like Writing? Like Eating? Guess what!? You CAN do both!!

Several months ago, a friend of mine connected me with another writer, Andrea J. Wenger, who was working on an article focusing on the delicate balance between technical writing and creative writing. It is a subject I find myself thinking about a lot (like, seriously, A LOT).  

Technical writing gets a bum rap sometimes. I mean, by me. I bitch about my day job a lot. Of course I’d rather devote my life and time to writing creatively.

Of course.

I’d also really like it if I could eat Oreos all day and not have to run 5 miles just to work off 5 of those little bastards. 

But, the truth is that I like living in a house with a roof. I like being able to afford Milk and Oreos. I’m even crazy enough to think about things like 401K plans and interest rates. I guess I became an adult somewhere along the line because I also really care about doing my day job well and succeeding at it.

Call me a sell out.

Call me crazy.

But, the point is this: the reason you can call me at all is because I have a job that pays my cell phone bill. 

So, as much as I complain about my J-O-B, I’m also very lucky to have it. And, I would encourage any strong writer to consider pursuing a career in technical writing because not only does it pay the bills, it is a career that is suited to your strengths. It has given me the freedom to write fiction which is incredibly important to me. 

So, check out Andrea’s article for some great practical tips to bridging the gap.

You won’t get rich and famous as a technical writer but it ain’t diggin’ ditches, either!

(Can we call that the new Tech Writing motto?)