Creative Writing Job Descriptions

Creative writers have a lot of opportunities.

Creative writing is a field that allows for a great deal of flexibility. Most creative writers can write on a freelance basis, supplementing another job. However, many people write creatively as a full-time job. A writer can engage in many different kinds of creative writing to earn money while gaining exposure and exercising their creativity.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most writing jobs require a college degree in communications, journalism or English.

Book and Poetry Writing

Authors write creative texts.

Full-time writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry books write each and every day, sometimes earning money through book advances they receive from publishing houses. According to Writing-World.com, authors who earn full-time incomes from their creative writing are in the minority. However, writers of poetry and novels who have a good publishing house that markets their books well will prosper.

Copy Writing

Copy writers write advertising text.

Copy writing allows writers to be creative and inventive. Copy writers write text that is largely used for marketing and advertisement purposes. They typically write engaging, convincing, colorful copy that gets readers to purchase a product or invest their time in a company. They write brochures, pamphlets, advertisements and Web copy. Many times, a copy writer will have studied public relations, marketing or English.

Screen, Game and Play Writing

Many writers write plays, scripts and game plots.

People who have an interest in writing creatively in specific ways often write for film, television or video games. These writers develop scripts that will sell to major audiences, such as for stage and film productions. Screenwriters write creative scripts for film and television. They create characters and plots. Similarly, playwrights write for theater and stage. Both employ a different writing format that practitioners may learn specifically from a university or course.

Video game writers write video game plots, scenes and characters. They work with game developers to make sure the game's plot is fleshed out during the game play development.

Creative Writing Teaching

Teachers can instruct students on how to write.

There are many professors and individuals who teach creative writing to students who wish to write poetry, fiction, non-fiction, memoir and play writing. Many of these professors work as full-time or adjunct faculty at a university or college. Some work for private institutions or hold workshops in their own home.

Literary Organizations Work

Many writers work with organizations to promote the literary arts.

Creative writers can work for literary organizations and journals. They often select poems and fiction pieces to place in literary journals and magazines. They act as editors, acquiring pieces, promoting the journal and making edits to the submissions as they see fit for the journal. Creative writers also promote literary arts by working organizations that put on literature events for the public, such as The Society of America, which puts on literary events and holds writing contests.

References

• Writing-World
• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Poetry Society of America

Resources

• Creative Writing Resources